While the Democratic Party determines where it wants to go next on health care — whether it’s Medicare for All, Medicare for America, or any one of the other 2020 health proposals — state lawmakers are shoring up the party’s signature policy, the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
So far in 2019, state legislatures in Colorado, Maine, Maryland, and New Mexico are moving bills to bolster the 2010 health law, like securing consumer protections for people with pre-exist...
ThinkProgress
New North Carolina bill would hold doctors accountable for sexual assault
A new bill making its way through the North Carolina Legislature seeks to ensure doctors are held accountable for sexually assaulting their patients. The bill is partly influenced by Larry Nassar, a former doctor and convicted serial sexual predator who, during his time at USA Gymnastics, molested hundreds of young girls and women.
The legislation, House Bill 228, cleared the House Health Committee on Tuesday and has been re-referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Rep. Gr...
Low-income New Hampshire residents sue Trump administration over Medicaid work requirements
Low-income residents in New Hampshire are suing the Trump administration for approving the state’s Medicaid work requirement, a group of health advocacy organizations announced Wednesday.
This is the third legal challenge against the administration’s most consequential health policy. The administration has already allowed eight states to condition Medicaid eligibility on reported work.
The administration first approved New Hampshire’s work requirement in Nov...
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand finally snagged a home state endorsement. Why on earth did it take so long?
For weeks, the 2020 candidates have been racking up endorsements from their home state delegations. Two months into her presidential campaign, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) finally received one too — from fellow New York lawmaker Carolyn Maloney.
“I am proud to endorse my friend @SenGillibrand to be our next President and the nation’s first woman President,” Rep. Maloney (D-NY) tweeted Sunday evening. “I saw tenacity when we fought together to pass the...
Maryland could become the first state to stop participating in the federal family planning program
Maryland could be the first state to stop participating in the country’s only federal family program, should the Trump administration’s so-called gag rule go into effect.
On Saturday, the Maryland House of Delegates passed a bill that would end the state’s participation in Title X, if the administration prevents the program’s federal family planning funds from going to clinics like Planned Parenthood that provide abortion or refer patients for abortion elsewh...
‘I vote with my pancreas’: How the skyrocketing price of insulin became an 2020 election issue
Once a month, Sarah Stark makes the trip to her local pharmacy to pick up the insulin she needs to keep her diabetes in check.
She has health insurance through her job and uses a $100 manufacturer’s coupon to help defray the cost. Even so, she ends up paying a whopping $728.40.
Stark, 28, is not the only one to experience sticker shock when making the purchase. Invariably, the pharmacist who rings her up is taken aback by the price of the medication, and asks if she’s certai...
Andrew Yang is the most interesting presidential candidate you’ve never heard of
Like any respectable presidential candidate, Andrew Yang calls from a diner in New Hampshire. Naturally, he’s having the clam chowder. He says it’s delicious.
Over the past few months, like the more than a dozen other Democrats running in the primaries, Yang, a 44-year-old businessman, has been campaigning in early states and doing the media rounds.
The only thing is that nobody knows who he is. Well, not nobody, but basically nobody. In early February, in a blog post...
What does Beto O’Rourke believe?
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) launched his a long-awaited presidential campaign Thursday with a three-minute video shared on Twitter.
“This is a defining moment of truth for this country and for every single one of us,” said O’Rourke, seated next to his wife.
“The challenges that we face right now, the interconnected crises in our economy, our democracy, and our climate have never been greater, and they will either consume us or they wi...
Illinois lawmaker introduces bill to punish doctors for providing health care to trans people
An Illinois bill filed by a Republican lawmaker, the Youth Health Protection Act, would punish doctors for providing transition-related health care to trans youth.
Rep. Tom Morrison’s bill, HB 3515, would prevent doctors from giving hormone prescriptions or providing transition-related surgeries for young trans people under the age of 18. If they do, it will be considered “unprofessional conduct” subject to discipline by a licensing entity or disciplinary review bo...
‘It’s my future’: Generation Z is going on strike to save the planet
Last October, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that without dramatic change, global emissions are set to rise to a level that would usher in catastrophic consequences in just over a decade. Exactly one month later, the historic Camp Fire broke out in Paradise, California, claiming 85 lives and destroying more than 15,000 structures.
For many, these two events prompted an awakening on the urgency of dealing with climate change, triggering a realization that t...