The president’s health department’s auspicious Trumpcare estimates deal a blow to GOP health bill

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a division within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), projects federal health care spending would be $18 billion lower in 2026 under the latest Republican health care bill than under current law. In all, 31 states would receive less federal money for providing their residents with health insurance.

The CMS estimate — first obtained by Axios — is more generous to the Graham-Cassidy bill than previous rel...

Right-wing pundit offers ridiculous explanation for Price’s charter jet flights

On Friday morning, Fox News contributor and conservative media blogger Erick Erickson told Fox & Friends hosts that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price only chartered private jets for business travel because the left “want[ed] him dead.” Price came under fire this week after Politico reported that the secretary had spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars flying privately, rather than opting for commercial tickets like his predecessors.

“H...

Cassidy argues his bill protects people with preexisting conditions, because Trump tweeted it did

During a radio interview on Thursday, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) made a case that the health care bill bearing his name must protect people with preexisting conditions, because President Trump said so in a tweet.

In response to host C.L. Bryant’s question about how the so-called Graham-Cassidy legislation will affect people with preexisting conditions, Cassidy’s immediately brought up a tweet Trump published Wednesday evening.

I would not sign G...

Fox News host who argued ‘we’re all going to die’ anyway now claims ‘all of Obamacare is immoral’

When Republicans were making an ultimately unsuccessful push to pass a Trumpcare bill in late June, Fox News’ Lisa Kennedy Montgomery criticized progressive “hysteria” about the bill, which would’ve cost more than 20 million Americans their health care, since “we’re all going to die” anyway. Now the former MTV VJ has offered another hot take on the existing health care law: it’s all immoral.

Ignoring the well-understood connection between health coverage and lower mortal...

The Senate is about to vote on a bill that will devastate women and gender minorities’ health care

The new GOP health bill before the Senate — written and largely advocated by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) — threatens to devastate the health of millions of women and gender minorities.

Technically, the Graham Cassidy Bill, which will be voted on next week, does not repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement that insurance companies cover people with pre-existing conditions. Nor does it allow states to waive that provision. But the bill do...

The GOP health care bill will make it harder for rural hospitals to keep their doors open

As Congress continues to debate the last-ditch Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the deadline to permanently renew funding for rural hospitals faced with high costs and limited resources may go unnoticed.

Hundreds of qualifying rural hospitals rely on payments provided by the Medicare Dependent Hospital (MDH) and the Low Volume Hospital Adjustment (LVHA) programs, both of which expire on September 30. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) introduced the Rural Hos...

Here’s what the key Republican swing votes are saying about Graham-Cassidy

As Republicans try (again) to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, a small group of Republican senators are in the spotlight.

The bill, spearheaded by Sens. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), would block grant health care funding to the states and repeal a number of taxes in place under Obamacare. The grants would steadily decline over time, and all states would suffer under cuts of up to $4 trillion over the next two decades. An estimated 32 million people will l...

Pence uses fake Jefferson quote to dodge critical question about Trumpcare

During a Fox & Friends interview on Thursday morning, Vice President Mike Pence was asked to respond to concerns people rightfully have that the latest Trumpcare bill will make it tougher for people with preexisting conditions to obtain and keep health insurance.

“Folks like Jimmy Kimmel, they’re worried about the preexisting condition thing, ’cause this will be up to the governors to decide how the money is dispersed, who gets coverage,” host Ainsley Ear...

Pence inaccurately claims ‘thousands’ of counties have no choice of health care provider

In an interview with Fox & Friends on Thursday morning, Vice President Pence rolled out a popular conservative talking point while discussing the existing Affordable Care Act (or “Obamacare”) and Republican plans to repeal and replace it.

One problem: The talking point is completely false.

“Almost anything would be better than Obamacare. Obamacare is imploding. It’s collapsing all across the country. It’s remarkable to see the patter...

The latest effort to repeal the ACA would leave seniors with skyrocketing health care costs

The latest effort by Republicans in Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act threatens to make health care unaffordable and inaccessible for millions of older Americans, according to a report from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) released Wednesday evening.

The bill, spearheaded by Sens. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), would block grant health care funding to the states. Those grants would steadily decline over time, resulting in a $239...