Trump justice department will stop defending key parts of Obamacare

June 8, 2018 Donald Trump, News, Trump administration, US healthcare, US news, US politics

Administration makes rare decision not to defend federal law in court, pointing to changes in the measure due next year
The Trump administration said in a court filing late on Thursday that it would no longer defend key parts of the Affordable Care Act, a rare departure from the justice department’s practice of defending federal laws in court.
It said that the requirement that people have health insurance – the individual mandate – was unconstitutional and that the entire law, ...

Health Department secretary open to national Medicaid work requirements

May 10, 2018 health, medicaid, News, politics, Trump administration

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told a Senate panel Thursday that he’s willing to work with Congress on legislation that would require people to work a designated amount of hours or lose Medicaid.

States that want to implement Medicaid work requirements have so far sought federal permission to do so, by waiver, but now, Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-LA) is aiming to go further by proposing that the federal government impose work requirements across the board in ever...

Trump administration weighs letting states drug test people who receive food assistance

April 11, 2018 News, politics, Trump administration

The Trump administration is considering a plan that would allow states to require Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — formerly known as food stamps — recipients to undergo drug testing in order to receive benefits, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

According the AP, the proposal would apply mostly to recipients who are able-bodied without dependents and applying to some specialized jobs. It’s a tactic many conservatives have advocated for in ...

In just 24 hours, Scott Pruitt’s scandals blew up into an ethics crisis

April 3, 2018 climate, News, politics, Trump administration

From pipeline deals and GOP fundraisers to private jets and pay raises, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s series of scandals has escalated in the past 24 hours.

Pruitt is not a man untouched by scandal. Since coming to the EPA in February of 2017, he has made headlines for expensive first-class travel, secretive private phone booths, and a close relationship with the industries he is charged to regulate.

And on Monday — the same da...

Surprise! The Trump administration just admitted it has to follow Obamacare

March 9, 2018 health care, News, obamacare, politics, Trump administration

In an unexpected development, the Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (R) on Thursday reluctantly conceding that Obamacare “remains the law and we have a duty to enforce and uphold the law.”

The letter, from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma, informs Idaho that insurers will not be allowed to sell illegal plans within that state which threatened to destabilize Idaho’s insurance markets...

Young Indian-Americans are shaming Trump’s desi allies like Ajit Pai

February 20, 2018 Donald Trump, News, politics, trump, Trump administration

Quartz

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How Trump’s budget would cut the safety net for the poorest Americans

February 13, 2018 Donald Trump, medicaid, News, Trump administration, US news, US politics

Trump’s vision for the budget adds to the deficit while cutting domestic programs such as food stamps that benefit people in need
Donald Trump’s budget proposal, unveiled on Monday, revived his calls for big cuts to domestic programs that benefit the poor and middle class, such as food stamps, as well as plans to entirely eliminate several arts and earth sciences funding.
The president, who is looking for large increases in military spending, is also proposing work requirements...

The Trump administration wants to allow states to impose lifetime coverage limits on Medicaid

February 6, 2018 health care, medicaid, News, Trump administration

The Trump administration is taking aim at Medicaid yet again, specifically with lifetime coverage limits, according to a McClatchy report Monday evening.

Just weeks after unveiling guidance that will allow states to impose Medicaid work requirements, Trump’s Health and Human Services agency is reportedly attempting to limit the number of months adults have access to the safety net program. The cap, if approved, would be the first of its kind in Medicaid’s history.

ThinkProgress

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Doctors say new Medicaid rules ‘like asking people to work with an anchor on their back’

January 13, 2018 medicaid, News, Trump administration, US domestic policy, US healthcare, US news, US politics, World news

Administration’s policy allows states to impose work requirements for people on Medicaid, meaning sick or injured Americans ‘have to go to work, no matter what’
Dr Gary Leroy’s patients are “salt of the earth”: inner-city people working in Dayton, Ohio as dishwashers, car mechanics and patient care assistants.
Related: Medicaid: Trump opens door for states to take away coverage from out-of-work Americans
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Bit by bit, Trump is taking apart the New Deal’s glorious legacy | Heather Richardson

December 24, 2017 Donald Trump, News, Republicans, Trump administration, US news, US politics, World news

With huge tax cuts projected to create a $1.5tn deficit, cuts to social security and Medicare will surely follow
Since January, there have been frightening signs that America is becoming an oligarchy overseen by a dictator. From the first, Donald Trump has followed an authoritarian playbook, beginning with his rejection of objective reality. Forced early on to defend the assertion that the crowd at Trump’s inauguration was the biggest ever witnessed, presidential spokesperson Kellyanne Con...