‘We do not pass laws that take away freedom from women who are most vulnerable’ Warren said, in speech against Hyde amendment
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren delivered a scorching criticism of her fellow candidate in the 2020 election and former vice-president, Joe Biden, and his continued support for the Hyde amendment, a provision of federal law that restricts abortion access for poor and disabled women on public health insurance.
The Hyde amendment bars th...
health
Rev. William Barber is on trial for trespassing over a health care protest he led 2 years ago
Rev. Dr. William Barber is on trial in North Carolina for leading a protest calling for Medicaid expansion in the state’s legislative building two years ago.
Barber, then-head of the state NAACP chapter and leader of the progressive grassroots movement “Moral Monday,” was arrested on May 30, 2017, after he led a group of more than 30 people to the legislative building in Raleigh to to discuss health care with lawmakers. Barber and others in the group were later cha...
Prices of the most common prescription drugs nearly doubled in less than a decade
The one issue most Americans can agree on is that the price of prescription drugs are out of control.
An analysis from researchers at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, found that 48 out of 4...
As WNBA season tips off, star players speak out against anti-abortion bills
On Friday night, the 2019 WNBA season tips off with a contest between the Atlanta Dream and Dallas Wings. It’s a pivotal season for the league’s future. Last fall, the WNBA Player’s Association opted out of its current collective bargaining agreement, and players will be spending their spare time during the season fighting for better wages, resources, and support.
But while the league-wide drama both on and off the court remains the utmost importance to the league&...
Trump uses 1996 welfare reform bill to go after immigrants who use public benefits
President Trump is getting serious about going after immigrants who use public benefits.
In a presidential memorandum issued Thursday, Trump announced he will direct federal agencies to enforce a longstanding rule requiring the sponsors — usually U.S. citizen family members — of immigrants to reimburse the government for any public benefits they use, including Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, and the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
“Financial sponsors who...
Republicans who said they’d protect people with pre-existing conditions vote against bill to do that
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would block the Trump administration from granting states the leeway to skirt Obamacare rules —- a measure designed to ensure that patients with pre-existing conditions continue to receive affordable robust coverage — in a 236 to 183 vote. The bill is not expected to pass the GOP-controlled Senate, but even if it does, the president has threatened to veto the measure.
Every House Democrat and four Republicans vo...
Trump and anti-vaxxers, together at last
Last week, the Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety. Their argument is fundamentally flawed in numerous ways, not the least of which is the fact that it relies on a dissenting opinion that is explicitly at odds with a binding decision by the Supreme Court’s majority.
On Wednesday, a handful of conservative groups weighed in with amicus briefs supporting this attack on Obamacare. They include an organization founde...
‘Caravan’ of Americans crossed Canadian border to purchase affordable insulin
For Quinn Nystrom, and millions of other Americans living with Type 1 Diabetes, insulin affordability is a “real crisis issue.”
So Nystrom took it upon herself to find a temporary solution. Last week, she and seven others organized a four-car “caravan” from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to drive 600 miles across the border to Fort Francis, Ontario, in Canada to purchase the life-saving insulin they all needed.
“It was a black and white difference,” Nystrom told ThinkProgress of her...
Transgender Iowans are worried they’ll lose transition-related care under new bill
Iowa is one signature away from enacting a law that would limit transgender people’s access to necessary health care.
The law would allow government entities to opt out of using public insurance dollars, including Medicaid, to pay for any kind of transition-related care. This language was tacked on as an amendment to a health and human services appropriations bill late in the process, LGBTQ rights advocates said, without any committee hearings or public comment process. Lawmak...
Trump administration finalizes ‘conscience’ rule affecting transgender people’s health care
The Trump administration finalized a new rule enabling the discrimination of transgender people in health care on Thursday.
The rule essentially allows health care workers to refer to religious or moral objections when they don’t want to deliver health care services, which would also affect access to abortion and contraception.
The so-called “conscience rule” would revise existing regulations to “ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal conscience and an...