White House budget leans into drug pricing, ObamaCare expansion

President Biden's budget proposal focuses heavily on expanding access to health care and lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

In an effort to extend the life of Medicare's hospital trust fund, the budget proposal would increase the number of drugs that can be negotiated, and allow those negotiations to begin sooner. 

The plan builds off the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which granted Medicare the power to negotiate the prices of up to 20 drugs each year — though...

Democrats vow fierce fight if GOP cuts Medicaid

House Democrats are vowing a fierce fight over Medicaid as Republicans eye plans to curb spending for the low-income health care program in the name of deficit reduction.

Joining President Biden, the Democrats are warning that Medicaid cuts would disproportionately impact the same vulnerable populations least able to absorb the hit, including low-income kids, seniors and the disabled, who together represent almost three-quarters of Medicaid spending.  

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Biden to go on offensive against Republicans over budget fight in Virginia speech

President Biden is set to go in on congressional Republicans on Tuesday while giving a speech in Virginia Beach where he is expected to blast the lawmakers for seeking cuts to programs like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Legislators are in the midst of negotiating a federal budget and seeking to avoid a potential default on the national debt. The White House has called for the debt ceiling to be raised and Biden is refusing to negotiate over this matter, a stance th...

Subsidies have boosted Affordable Care Act’s enrollment. It’s setting up a potential fight

Health insurance sign-ups through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) jumped by nearly 2 million during the most recent enrollment period, which ended in mid-January, totaling 16.3 million people.  

The gains suggest the program known as Obamacare is going strong, despite repeated efforts by Republicans to kill it.  

It also suggests subsidies provided to the program through two massive pieces of legislation spearheaded by President Biden had an influen...

Subsidies have boosted Affordable Care Act’s enrollment. It’s setting up a potential fight

Health insurance sign-ups through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) jumped by nearly 2 million during the most recent enrollment period, which ended in mid-January, totaling 16.3 million people.  

The gains suggest the program known as Obamacare is going strong, despite repeated efforts by Republicans to kill it.  

It also suggests subsidies provided to the program through two massive pieces of legislation spearheaded by President Biden had an influen...

Biden admin touts coverage gains ahead of ObamaCare deadline

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday reported significant gains in health insurance coverage across numerous demographics in 2021, two days before the enrollment deadline for ObamaCare.

The report issued by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation found that the national rate of uninsured people under the age of 65 fell from 11.1 percent in 2019 to 10.5 percent in 2021, with larger gains made in demographics that have historica...

We have a Republican Speaker, but no Republican plan to speak of

Republicans have vehemently complained that President Biden and Democrats are taking the country and the economy in the wrong direction. But now that Republicans control the House of Representatives, what specifically do they intend to do instead? Your guess is as good as mine, because Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) never laid out a detailed plan.

It’s not a new problem for Republicans.

Remember when Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare, in March...