Medicaid enrollment is falling. Obamacare enrollment is falling. And a new survey shows that more Americans are living without insurance.
medicaid
Maine’s new governor moves to give health care to 70,000 people on her first day in office
Maine approved Medicaid expansion by a ballot initiative more than a year ago, but former Governor Paul LePage had blocked it from taking effect.
Thankfully, Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) knows how to keep a promise.
On Thursday, in her first executive order on her first day in office, Mills ordered Maine to move forward with Medicaid expansion, which is likely to provide health insurance for an additional 70,000 Maine residents.
Our new Administration w...
A eulogy for the most incompetent House majority in modern history
Long before Donald Trump’s second-place finish somehow landed him in the White House, Republicans in Congress promised a package of benefit cuts, privatization, and tax cuts for the wealthy that were so cruel, American voters literally refused to believe they were real. In 2012, a Democratic super PAC decided not to campaign against future Speaker Paul Ryan’s package of Medicare vouchers and upper income tax cuts after participants in a focus group “simply refused to beli...
Finally, US hospitals will have to post their prices online
Astronomical hospital bills are a trope of American health care. Hospitals in the US are known for charging exorbitant fees for simple procedures, and for adding baffling entries to discharge bills. Notorious examples include the woman who was charged $40 to hold her newbo...
Ruling Striking Down Obamacare Moves Health Debate to Center Stage
A Texas judge’s ruling that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional may not stand, but it will elevate health care as a pressing topic in a divided Washington.
When it comes to longevity, we should look to the East, not the West
This story is part of What Happens Next, our complete guide to understanding the future. Read more predictions about the Future of Aging.
The longevity era has arrived—and it looks different to your grandparents’ generation.
If you’re 65 ...
Arkansas moves to cut Medicaid funds to health facilities serving elderly, people with disabilities
The Arkansas state legislature advanced a proposal Monday that would slash Medicaid payments to assisted living facilities that provide services to the elderly and individuals with disabilities — a move that continues the state’s assault on the public health insurance program designed for low-income people.
Lawmakers advanced the legislation in a joint meeting of the House and Senate public health committees, choosing to move forward even after a variety of providers and indiv...
The Supreme Court just gave us its first view of how it will handle abortion in the Kavanaugh era
The Supreme Court handed down a surprising order on Monday, announcing it will not hear a pair of cases asking, among other things, how much power conservative states have to defund Planned Parenthood. The order is surprising because, as Justice Clarence Thomas notes in a dissent joined by Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, the two cases meet the ordinary criteria the Supreme Court uses to determine which cases it should hear.
“One of this Court’s primary functions is to ...
Wisconsin’s GOP power grab will have devastating consequences for health care
Wisconsin’s GOP-controlled, lame-duck legislature is trying to disparage the powers of incoming Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, preventing the elected officials from keeping key campaign promises on health care.
The blue wave came to Wisconsin after residents rejected union-busting, anti-Obamacare Gov. Scott Walker (R) in November. But now, GOP state lawmakers are trying to secure their conservative agenda. On Tuesday, the legislature is scheduled to...
Coalition releases plan to end U.S. HIV epidemic by 2025
In advance of World AIDS Day Saturday, a coalition of HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations have laid out a detailed plan to end the U.S. HIV epidemic by 2025.
The new roadmap sets ambitious goals for treatment and prevention and calls upon lawmakers to enact the kinds of changes that will help achieve them.
What that looks like is meeting what is called the “95/95/95” framework:
- 95 percent of people who have HIV are aware of their status.
- 95 perce...