The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released its 10-year budget and economic projections, and the outlook appears dismal.
After years of warnings about the growing unsustainability of our debt, the CBO now projects that we are hitting a tipping point. Even using the most conservative measurement — $27 trillion— our debt will exceed the size of our entire economic output (GDP) next year, and will grow to over 170 percent of GDP in three decades. CBO also projects ...
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ObamaCare back in court over preventive services
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Federal appeals panel skeptical of ObamaCare’s preventative care authority
A federal appeals panel appeared skeptical Monday of the constitutionality of an Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision requiring insurers to cover specific preventive services.
Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans questioned whether the members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) have the legal power to make recommendations, since its members are not appointed by the president or confirmed by the Senate.
The ta...
First over-the-counter birth control pill ships to retailers, will hit shelves this month
The first birth control pill available without a prescription in the U.S. has shipped to retailers and will be available in most stores and online later this month, its manufacturer announced Monday.
According to Perrigo, Opill is available for preorder this week from select online retailers and is expected to be on store shelves at major retailers nationwide in the coming weeks.
A month’s supply will carry a recommended cost of $19.99, while the company recomme...
Morning Report — Super Tuesday, State of the Union mark general election combat
This week will add details to an expected rematch ahead in the presidential general election.
Does President Biden have a persuasive vision for four more years? His Thursday State of the Union address, his chance to speak to the largest live media audience he will likely have for many months, adds a bit of suspense to Biden’s performative vulnerability with voters: his age.
Former President Trump
ObamaCare faces key hearing after Texas ruling
A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments Monday on the Biden administration's appeal of a case that threatens the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) promise of free preventive care to more than 150 million people.
A federal judge in Texas last year ruled that the law's mandate requiring employers and insurers to cover a host of preventive services, like certain cancer screenings and HIV prevention, was unconstitutional.
The ruling also invalidated the ...
With solar, we can solve non-profit hospitals’ carbon and community benefit problem simultaneously
Hospitals account for a significant amount of health care’s enormous 550 million metric ton greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint. That is largely because hospitals are remarkably energy inefficient.
In 2023, just 37 — substantially less than 1 percent — were Energy Star certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Scope 1 and 2 energy efficiency. The innumerable and unrelenting health harms associated with GHG emissions disproportionately harm Medicare and Medicaid b...
Can Biden overcome his low approval ratings, à la Obama and Bill Clinton? Not likely
Can Joe Biden successfully reboot?
It’s possible; approaching their successful reelection campaigns, both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton also faced poor ratings. But their low ratings were not as low as Biden’s. He heads into election season with the lowest approval ratings — 41 percent — of any president going back to the 1950s, according to Gallup.
Only 46 percent of the public thought Obama was doing a good job in January 2012; by Ele...
Williamson ‘unsuspending’ presidential campaign
Author Marianne Williamson announced Wednesday that she is “unsuspending” her presidential campaign, claiming American voters are “watching a car crash in slow motion” with the current candidates.
“Hey, I have an important announcement to make. As of today, I am unsuspending my campaign for the presidency of the United States,” Williamson said in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The long-shot Biden challenger announced she was sus...
Williamson ‘unsuspending’ presidential campaign
Author Marianne Williamson announced Wednesday that she is “unsuspending” her presidential campaign, claiming American voters are “watching a car crash in slow motion” with the current candidates.
“Hey, I have an important announcement to make. As of today, I am unsuspending my campaign for the presidency of the United States,” Williamson said in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The long-shot Biden challenger announced she was sus...