Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson launches legal challenge on behalf of islanders, who say they are a distinct ethnic group
The international human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson has launched a legal challenge with the United Nations on behalf of Norfolk Islanders, alleging the Australian government has placed islander’s culture and language at risk by revoking their right to self-govern.
The island – roughly halfway between Australia and New Zealand – had been governed by its legislative assembly since 1979, until the Australian government’s decision in 2015 to revoke its autonomy. Australian federal and state laws are now enforced and islanders are now entitled to Medicare and other government services. Travelling between the island and Australia no longer requires a passport.
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Guardian World News
Batman byelection: Greens target Medicare rebate freeze in fight for votes
Richard Di Natale says people face choice of paying hundreds for radiology services or going without essential care
The Greens have pledged a $550m funding boost for x-rays and radiology on Medicare as they ramp up their efforts to triumph in the Batman byelection.
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Canadians cut food and heating to afford prescription drugs, report finds
- Nearly one million Canadians sacrificed groceries and heating
- The only developed country with no universal drug plan
Nearly one million Canadians sacrificed food and heating last year in order to afford prescription drugs, according to a new report.
Despite having a universal health care system, Canada remains the only developed country in the world with no universal drug plan. It also has the second-highest drug prices in the industrialized world.
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Koch-backed group fights paid sick leave laws as flu sweeps US
The lobbying group that led the assault on Obamacare has targeted movements across the US to ensure workers can get needed time off
This week marks 25 years since Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, which gives US workers the right to unpaid time off to care for themselves and close family members.
It took another decade for some to win paid sick leave, when San Franciscans approved a ballot initiative in 2006 for private employees to earn an hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Similar measures now benefit 14 million workers in 32 municipalities and nine states.
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Private health insurance sector calls for increase to Medicare levy surcharge
Private Healthcare Australia says surcharge not a strong enough incentive given rising premiums
High-income earners should be penalised at a higher rate through the Medicare levy surcharge for failing to take out private health insurance, the insurance sector says.
Single people who earn more than $90,000 and families earning more than $180,000 pay an extra 1%-1.5% levy if they do not have private health cover, with the levy tiered according to income.
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Medicaid: Trump opens door for states to take away coverage from out-of-work Americans
Administration unveils major policy shift that could mean millions of Americans could be legally required to hold a job to be on Medicaid
Millions who rely on Medicaid, America’s biggest public health insurance program, could be required to have a job if they want to hold on to their coverage in the future.
The Trump administration has unveiled a major policy shift that offers a path for states seeking to tie Medicaid eligibility to work requirements.
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Republican moderate Susan Collins undecided on final tax cut vote
- Maine senator who helped sink healthcare repeal voted for Senate tax bill
- Insists ‘4% cut in Medicare that could go into effect will not go into effect’
The Republican Susan Collins, whose support was crucial in passing the Senate tax reform bill earlier this month, said on Sunday she has not yet decided if she will back the final measure negotiated by House and Senate leaders.
The Maine moderate has laid out conditions for her support of a final “conference committee” version of the tax proposal. They include assurances that Medicare payments will not be cut and that Republicans will support two healthcare bills aimed at reducing premium costs.
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White House would ditch attack on Obamacare in order to pass tax bill
Budget director says ‘we’re OK’ with dropping provision of Republican tax reform that would also repeal healthcare mandate, if it becomes roadblock
The White House is willing to sacrifice Republicans’ latest attempt to dismantle Obama’s Affordable Care Act if that’s necessary to pass a series of sweeping tax cuts, Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney said on Sunday.
Republicans’ current tax reform legislation would slash corporate tax rates and benefit wealthy Americans. Last week, after the president tweeted that he wanted legislation to include a repeal of a key healthcare mandate, Senate Republicans announced they would include the healthcare measure in their tax bill.
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Stress is bad for your health. Today’s political uncertainty makes it worse
Americans are exposed to one of the most damaging sources of stress: uncertainty. The assault on our fundamental sense of security can make us sick
- Outclassed: The Secret Life of Inequality is our new column about class. Read all articles here
David Dobbs’ 13-year-old daughter has type 1 diabetes. Since 2015, the 59-year-old freelance writer and author has relied on Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), to help pay for his daughter’s insulin, blood testing supplies and other medical needs. But as the endless series of cliffhangers over the fate of the ACA continues, Dobbs says he’s starting to feel hunted.
Without insurance, diabetes treatment alone would cost his family about $20,000 to $30,000 a year, he estimates – and that’s if nothing goes wrong and prompts an astronomically expensive hospitalization.
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By the skin of his teeth: learning to walk again without health insurance
An injury left professional bull rider Joseph Dewey paralyzed – now, like countless other Americans, he’s recovering without health insurance
In the weeks after professional bull rider Joseph Dewey suffered an injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down, an outpouring of support kept him buoyed above the undertow of hopelessness and despair.
Related: ‘They’re sentencing me to death’: Medicaid recipients on the Republican healthcare plan
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