On Monday, Arkansas became the third state to make unprecedented changes to its nearly 53-year old Medicaid program, the government-run insurance program for the poor and disabled. The state will now add work requirements and other restrictions as part of a nationwide conservative agenda to cut Medicaid rolls. In Arkansas, enrollment is expected to shrink by thousands.
The Trump administration allowed Arkansas to add an 80-hours-per-month work rule to its Medicaid program. The state...
health
Batman byelection: Greens target Medicare rebate freeze in fight for votes
Richard Di Natale says people face choice of paying hundreds for radiology services or going without essential care
The Greens have pledged a $550m funding boost for x-rays and radiology on Medicare as they ramp up their efforts to triumph in the Batman byelection.
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A new bipartisan Senate bill tackling the opioid crisis still falls short of what’s actually needed
A bipartisan group of eight senators unveiled legislation Tuesday that addresses an opioid epidemic that killed nearly 64,000 people in 2016 alone and shortened life expectancy by about three months.
CARA 2.0 — advertised as a sequel to the last major bill to address the opioid epidemic, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of late 2016 — would impose new rules to prescribing opioids and dedicate $1 billion to addiction treatment and recovery programs. The bill a...
Trump administration’s latest attack on Obamacare would cost taxpayers millions
The Trump administration announced a sizable change to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Monday — winding back Obama-era rules on skimpier health insurance. The administration is proposing to expand access to short-term health plans, which is intended to fill temporary gaps in coverage and provide some consumers with cheaper options because the plan’s coverage is limited. This is just the latest move to undermine the ACA, and it’ll cost the federal government anywhere between...
An Idaho insurance company is skirting Obamacare law. Will the Trump administration stop it?
Blue Cross of Idaho submitted five health plans to Idaho insurance regulators on Tuesday that do not comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to local reports. The move has serious repercussions on people’s health care — and if the Trump administration allows the state to bypass the federal health law, other states could soon do the same.
If approved, Blue Cross of Idaho will begin selling plans in March that charge people with pre-existing conditions and old...
Koch-backed group fights paid sick leave laws as flu sweeps US
The lobbying group that led the assault on Obamacare has targeted movements across the US to ensure workers can get needed time off
This week marks 25 years since Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, which gives US workers the right to unpaid time off to care for themselves and close family members.
It took another decade for some to win paid sick leave, when San Franciscans approved a ballot initiative in 2006 for private employees to earn an hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Similar measures now benefit 14 million workers in 32 municipalities and nine states.
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White House policy could cost Planned Parenthood $100 million in international funding
A rule revived by the Trump administration gutting funding for organizations that perform or promote abortions abroad could cost Planned Parenthood around $100 million in funding, according to analysis by the New York Times. It’s the latest indication that White House efforts to hinder reproductive justice work are hitting the well-known non-profit health organization.
According to a State Department report on Tuesday, four organizations working internationally (along with doz...
West Virginia’s billionaire governor pushes for barriers to welfare and Medicaid
Months after rejecting a Kentucky-style work requirement for Medicaid in West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice now seems to be moving in the opposite direction — with assistance from the conservative Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) ally and an affiliate of the Koch-funded State Policy Network.
The apparent switch is nothing new for Justice, who made a leap into politics when he ran for governor of West Virginia as a Democrat ...
Work rules, drug tests, and time limits: When the GOP war on welfare comes for Medicaid
Thomas Penister was uninsured for years after serving time in prison. In 2015, he applied for Medicaid coverage to see a primary care doctor as his mental health problems became debilitating. He was relieved to finally discover what was wrong: his doctor diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder, attention-deficit disorder, severe sleep apnea (a common nighttime breathing disorder), and anxiety.
Continued treatment of these illnesses allowed him to get his life back, he said...
First lawsuit filed against Kentucky’s Medicaid work rules. The health care of thousands is at risk.
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) upended the state’s Medicaid program two weeks ago by imposing work requirements, premiums, and other administrative changes on some enrollees. Changes to the half-century program will move 95,000 people off Medicaid coverage, state officials said. Advocates warned early on there would be lawsuits, and on Wednesday, the first one came.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, National Health Law Program, and Kentucky Equal Justice Center filed the class ac...