A hastily written health bill — with deep cuts to Medicaid and major hits to patient regulatory protections — ran into the same political problems as bills before it, and failed to garner enough support in the Senate.
Republicans announced Tuesday the party does not have the votes to pass their latest health care bill, known as the Graham-Cassidy bill, and will forgo a vote this week. Instead they will move on to tax reform, reaching for at least one legislative win befo...
health care
Another ACA repeal bill is dead, but it was never about crafting policy
On Monday night, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) gathered for a CNN town hall debate over a health care bill spearheaded by Graham and Cassidy.
“This is a debate about who has the power, you or the federal government?” Cassidy said at one point. “I will tell you, if it’s a decision about you versus the federal government, we side with you…. Those who oppose us and those who want single-payer, they choose otherwise.”
When Cassidy’s health clinic closed, its patients only saving grace was Obamacare
Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic — a virtual health clinic in Louisiana co-founded by then-doctor and now Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) — closed in July 2015. It had been getting increasingly harder to get grants to fund the ‘clinic without walls,’ which connected uninsured people who needed care to providers; it was a free clinic and received no federal or state funds. After much deliberation, the clinic shut its doors.
“We felt better about closing th...
The U.S. is still behind the rest of the world on access to birth control pills
There are 102 countries in the world where you can buy birth control pills without seeing your doctor, but the United States isn’t one of them.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has endorsed the idea of true access to over-the-counter birth control since 2012 and 76 percent of doctors and 70 percent of other health care providers have said that people should have over-the-counter access.
One common concern is whether people who can get pregnant ...
Graham and Cassidy were asked why they’re defunding Planned Parenthood. Their answers were ridiculous
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) invoked highly edited, debunked videos targeting Planned Parenthood from 2015 at a CNN town hall Monday night when a woman shared her story of how Planned Parenthood helped her have children.
Graham, along with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), has been spearheading a repeal and replace bill in the Senate that would, among other things, defund Planned Parenthood.
The woman at Monday’s town hall told a story about when Planned Parenthood discovered cysts and...
Republicans revolt again, seemingly doom Trump’s latest effort to repeal Obamacare
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) announced Monday that she will vote against the Graham-Cassidy bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act following the release of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score, seemingly killing the latest attempt by Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare.
The CBO didn’t have sufficient time to conduct a full analysis but said “millions” of Americans would lose their health care.
Senator Collins oppo...
Police arrest activists protesting Trumpcare bill on Capitol Hill
As the Senate’s first and only hearing on the latest Republican health care bill began on Capitol Hill Monday afternoon, police arrested dozens of activists — many in wheelchairs — who had lined up early in the morning to voice their opposition to the legislation.
“No cuts to Medicaid!” they yelled, the voices of more than 200 protesters echoing through the halls. “Save our liberty.” Inside the hearing room, lawmakers were forced to recess the hea...
Indiana judge blocks anti-choice law in Indiana, marking a win for Planned Parenthood
A federal judge has issued a permanent injunction against an Indiana law that would have prohibited abortions sought specifically because the fetus had been potentially diagnosed with Down syndrome or other disabilities. The law also would have required that aborted fetuses be buried or cremated and that abortion providers notify patients that seeking an abortion because the fetus may be disabled was against the law in the state.
The restrictions were signed into law in March 2016 b...
Even Ted Cruz not ready to support latest Obamcare repeal
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said on Sunday that he’s yet in support of the Graham-Cassidy bill to repeal the the Affordable Care Act because his concerns about health care premiums have not yet been addressed.
Cruz’s comments were made during a discussion with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith before an audience at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. The discussion included fellow Republican Texas Senator and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, who said he’s voting in favor of Graham-Cassidy. ...
Despite evidence to contrary, Cory Gardner says Obamacare repeal is not about his donors
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) went on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday and tried to defend his position on the Graham-Cassidy bill, the latest GOP health bill before the Senate, saying he’s voting yes for patients who see high-cost coverage rather than the Republican donors who have a stake in repealing current health law.
Asked by host John Dickerson about admissions by Republican senators that the revived effort to repeal and replace Obamacare was spurred by politic...