There’s just one little, teensy weensy problem with President Biden’s announcement that he will let “Dreamers” join the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) or Medicaid — it’s illegal. I know what you’re thinking: When has an action being illegal ever stopped Biden? And you’re right, it usually doesn’t. But while illegality won’t stop him, the U.S. Supreme Court almost certainly will.
The DREAM Act (hence, the name Dreamers) was first introduced in 2001, often with some bipartisan ...
Opinion
How the end of free preventative health care could affect us all
A federal district court last week ruled that health insurers are no longer required by the Affordable Care Act to provide "free" preventative care for services identified as important by the Preventative Services Task Force.
Judge Reed O'Connor ruled that the volunteer members of that task force are officers of the United States and need to be appointed by the president or at least by the head of a governmental department. What Congress thought was a feature i...
How the end of free preventative health care could affect us all
A federal district court last week ruled that health insurers are no longer required by the Affordable Care Act to provide "free" preventative care for services identified as important by the Preventative Services Task Force.
Judge Reed O'Connor ruled that the volunteer members of that task force are officers of the United States and need to be appointed by the president or at least by the head of a governmental department. What Congress thought was a feature i...
What we’ve gained from the Affordable Care Act, 13 years later
Do you remember when some senior citizens had to ration their medicines because their prescription drug costs would triple every year after they entered the Medicare coverage gap known as the “donut hole”? I do.
Do you remember when turning 19 meant getting kicked off your parents’ health insurance plan, regardless of your living situation? I do.
Do you remember when insurance companies could refuse to pay for preventive treatments — vaccinations, mammograms, colonos...
Chaos and rudeness at Stanford
It is unusual for a controversial event to end with absolutely everybody looking bad, but that is what happened on March 9 at Stanford University Law School, when the Federalist Society chapter sponsored a talk by Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, an ultra-conservative firebrand appointed by President Trump to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The judge, the student protesters and an on-scene administrator all played to type, exhibiting arrogance, intolerance and irresponsibility, respectivel...
Now is the time to guard against reckless banking legislation
All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again. The cycle of financial deregulation followed by financial calamities has a sickening familiarity to it. Our only hope for breaking out of this wasteful and destructive cycle is to learn enough from one of the crises to install reforms durable enough to have a chance to survive the money-induced amnesia that will inevitably follow.
The failures of Silvergate, Silicon Valley and Signature Banks provide us an opportun...
Republicans’ ‘Charlie Brown’ budget problem
Remember the great Peanuts comic strip where every time Charlie Brown went to kick the football it was yanked away? Think of congressional Republicans as Charlie Brown and Medicaid as the football.
For 40 years, the GOP has tried to slash Medicaid, the federal-state health care program targeted at the poor. They'll get some temporary wins, only to have that football yanked back. Over the past 40 years, Medicaid has grown more than Medicare.
They're at it again.<...
If Biden doesn’t run, would Bernie be the best alternative?
Republicans delight in polls showing most Democrats don’t want President Biden to run for a second term.
Well, that leads to a question: How do they feel about Bernie? As in Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
A Reuters/Ipsos poll of Democrats taken last month found that the 81-year-old Sanders is running second for the 2024 presidential nomination. With 13 percent support, he is ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris (12 percent) and Transportation Secretary Pete ...
If Biden doesn’t run, would Bernie be the best alternative?
Republicans delight in polls showing most Democrats don’t want President Biden to run for a second term.
Well, that leads to a question: How do they feel about Bernie? As in Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
A Reuters/Ipsos poll of Democrats taken last month found that the 81-year-old Sanders is running second for the 2024 presidential nomination. With 13 percent support, he is ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris (12 percent) and Transportation Secretary Pete ...
The government will finally cover obesity care for its employees — but not the rest of us
Obesity is a complicated disease that is poorly understood by the public. Unfortunately, treatment for this disease is hindered by societal misconceptions and discriminatory beliefs that confuse appearance with disease. The recent media coverage and popularity of new anti-obesity medications (AOM) has given some more confidence to seek treatment for this disease. However, most people still cannot access care because their insurance will not pay for it — unless you are a federal employee.<...