News
Threat Of Losing Obamacare Turns Some Apolitical Californians Into Protesters
by Ana Ibarra
02.09.17 ROSEVILLE, Calif. - Until recently, Paul Smith didn't consider himself much of an activist. But he woke up hours before sunrise on Saturday to attend his first town hall meeting. That meeting near Sacramento, organized by his district's Congressman Tom McClintock (R-Roseville), sparked a peaceful - if large and raucous - protest over Obamacare, the travel ban and other issues. And it drew national headlines. "I have noticed many of my friends who never speak [about] politics are getting politi… Continue Reading
Patient groups fear Obamacare repeal could undo protections for sickest Americans
by Lev Facher
02.09.17 Washington - As Republicans confront the thorny realities of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, groups representing patients with the most serious diseases fear those plans could return the US health care system to one in which sick people are not guaranteed health insurance. It comes down to the individual mandate, the law's most unpopular provision, which required every American to buy insurance or face a penalty. Republicans want it gone. But if they nix the mandate, it become… Continue Reading
Obama’s Drug Czar: The Opioid Crisis Must Continue To Be A Federal Priority
by Shefali Luthra
02.09.17 The GOP is working to repeal and replace the 2010 health law, known for insuring more than 20 million people. And the change could affect another health concern: the nation's opioid abuse problem. Just ask President Barack Obama's former "drug czar," Michael Botticelli. Botticelli just finished running the White House's Office of National Drug Policy, a post he assumed in early 2014 as the opioid epidemic began making national headlines. The drugs, which claimed more than 33,000 lives in 2015,… Continue Reading
Obamacare Brought Jobs To Indian Country That Could Vanish With Repeal
by Eric Whitney
02.09.17 Since its founding in the 1950s, the Indian Health Service has provided medical care for many Native Americans. But the service has been chronically underfunded, so often pays for care only if someone is in immediate danger of losing life or limb. In recent years, the Affordable Care Act created new health coverage opportunities for more than half a million Native Americans and Alaska Natives - and created jobs in Indian country, too. The Blackfeet Community Hospital in Browning, Mont., is one … Continue Reading
Obamacare repeal worries community health centers
by JoAnne Vivano
02.09.17 As Republican lawmakers work to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, officials at community health centers across Ohio say they are concerned that changes could halt progress they've made over the past several years in treating more people, expanding services and boosting economies in struggling areas. Such centers, set up to care for underserved populations, have benefited not only from an increase in funding authorized by the Affordable Care Act, but also from a provision of the law that allowe… Continue Reading
'Obamacare' repeal could kill 62,000 Arizona jobs, study says
by Ken Alltucker
02.08.17 If Arizona loses all Affordable Care Act funding now funneled to patients, doctors, insurers and hospitals, it would create a nearly $5 billion hole in the state's economy and cost more than 62,000 jobs next year, according to a new report. That is the worst-case scenario outlined in a report commissioned by Children's Action Alliance and completed by the Seidman Research Institute at Arizona State University. The report projected a slightly smaller dip in job creation and economic impact if fe… Continue Reading
Repeal without replacement: A bad strategy for kids
by Charles Barone
02.08.17 Now that Betsy DeVos has been confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Education, it's time to turn attention to the issue of governing. Believe it or not, a lot has been going on. Even though it's been drowned out by the debate over DeVos, the stakes are equally high, particularly when it comes to implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The passage of ESSA in December of 2015 reflected the leadership and bipartisan spirit brought to bear by President Obama and the four principal negotia… Continue Reading
In West Virginia, Men In Recovery Look To Trump For A 'Helping Hand'
by Sarah McCammon
02.08.17 Decorations are sparse at Recovery Point, a residential treatment center in Huntington, W.Va. That's why the bulletin board covered with photos of men stands out. The men spent time here, but didn't survive their addictions. They're all dead now. "We keep a constant reminder in here for individuals who come into our detox facility. We have, 'But for the grace of God, there go I,'" says Executive Director Matt Boggs, pointing to the words on the board. Boggs, 35, would know. He started as a res… Continue Reading
Why Obamacare repeal would be devastating to people with HIV
by Julia Belluz
02.08.17 Gina Brown was pregnant and single when she was diagnosed with HIV in 1994. "I thought I was going to die," she says. She promptly quit her job at a nursing home out of fear she'd infect her elderly patients. More than 20 years later, Brown, now 51, is working as a social worker in New Orleans. The discovery of antiretroviral treatments turned her HIV diagnosis from a death sentence into a chronic illness, and Brown now worries more about her heartburn than the virus. But getting health care ha… Continue Reading
Obamacare repeal could crush your retiree medical costs
by Tom Anderson
02.07.17 President Donald Trump said in an interview before the Super Bowl that replacing the Affordable Care Act could take the Republican-controlled Congress and his administration until next year. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday that the legislation will be completed this year, though a potential rollout may take until 2018. Depending on if and how the law is scrapped, retirees and those headed for retirement could face higher costs for prescription drugs and preventive care. Though Obamacare p… Continue Reading
Hospitals would face higher charity costs without Obamacare
by Tony Leys
02.07.17 WASHINGTON - Eric Stimson says that if his cancer had struck when he was uninsured, it would have destroyed more than his voice box - it would have taken his dignity. The Des Moines, Iowa resident had gone more than two years without health insurance before regaining coverage with help from the Affordable Care Act in 2014. A few months later, he became desperately sick with throat cancer. Without his new coverage, he would have had to ask Iowa hospitals to shoulder most of the cost of his care,… Continue Reading
Va. could lose $20 million in public health funds with ACA repeal
by Katie Demeria
02.05.17 A blanket repeal of the Affordable Care Act could cause millions of dollars worth of public health funding to hit the chopping block, leaving the Virginia Department of Health more than $20 million short. While most of the focus around the ACA's repeal has been on what such a move would do to the country's uninsurance rate, little attention has been placed on the public health dollars wrapped up in the 2010 health law. "In the zest to repeal ACA, we uncovered, with a lot of our colleagues fr… Continue Reading
ACA repeal could cost Mecklenburg and NC millions in health funding
by Karen Garloch
02.05.17 North Carolina public health officials fear a repeal of the Affordable Care Act could mean the loss of about $20 million a year to support programs such as administering vaccines and investigating communicable diseases. "Losing these funds would be devastating to public health across the county," said Dr. Marcus Plescia, director of the Mecklenburg County Health Department in Charlotte. "I find it very, very discouraging." Nationally, repeal of the ACA could eliminate $3 billion in state and l… Continue Reading
598 Colleges Have ‘Concerns’ on Trump Travel Ban
by Mark Hensch
02.03.17 A coalition of 598 college and university presidents has released a letter voicing "concerns" with President Trump's temporary ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations. In the letter, sent Friday to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly through the American Council on Education (ACE), the presidents say they are concerned about how the order will affect international students, faculty, researchers and staffers. "Our nation can only maintain its global scientific and economic leader… Continue Reading
New National "Right to Work" Bill Threatens Hollywood Unions
by Jonathan Handel
02.02.17 Legislation is "a backdoor attempt at bankrupting labor unions," say congressional Democrats. Legislation introduced in Congress with little fanfare Tuesday could decimate Hollywood unions and further accelerate the decline of unions nationwide by allowing workers across the country to opt out of paying union dues or fees even if they receive the benefits of a union-negotiated contract. The result, union activists contend, would be to bankrupt unions nationwide by starving them of dues or … Continue Reading
Hospitals Worry Repeal Of Obamacare Would Jeopardize Innovations In Care
by Kristin Espeland Gourlay
02.01.17 Much has been written about the 20 million people who gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and what could happen to these patients if the ACA is repealed without a replacement. But some people don't realize that hospitals nationwide could take a big financial hit on several fronts, too. First, it's likely that fewer patients would be able to pay their hospital bills, health policy analysts say, so the institutions would be stuck with that bad debt, as they were before Obamacar… Continue Reading
Senior Democrats Demand Obamacare Enrollment Extension
by Jeffrey Young
01.30.17 The top Democrats on three major House committees want President Donald Trump to give health insurance customers two more weeks to choose plans this year. In a letter sent to acting Health and Human Services Secretary Norris Cochran on Monday, the lawmakers say the deadline extension and other steps are needed because the Trump administration halted advertising for HealthCare.gov just days before the final deadline, which is Tuesday. "We are deeply concerned that the administration's s… Continue Reading
Educators, Advocates React to Trump Administration's Refugee and Travel Ban
by Andrew Ujifusa
01.30.17 Teachers, at least two former education secretaries, and others with links to education are speaking out about President Donald Trump's executive order issued Friday that suspends refugee admissions into the U.S. for 120 days, bars all immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, and indefinitely bans refugees from Syria. For Rachel Rowan, a high school social studies teacher in Prince George's County schools in Maryland, the controversy happens to match up with her lessons: This week, Row… Continue Reading
Behind closed doors, Republican lawmakers fret about how to repeal Obamacare
by Mike DeBonis
01.27.17 Republican lawmakers aired sharp concerns about their party's quick push to repeal the Affordable Care Act inside a closed-door meeting Thursday, according to a recording of the session obtained by The Washington Post. The recording reveals a GOP that appears to be filled with doubts about how to make good on a long-standing promise to get rid of Obamacare without explicit guidance from President Trump or his administration. The thorny issues lawmakers grapple with on the tape - including who m… Continue Reading
Poll: Just 15 percent of doctors want ObamaCare repealed
by Peter Sullivan
01.26.17 The vast majority of doctors do not want ObamaCare to be repealed, a new survey finds. Just 15 percent of primary care doctors surveyed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania want the healthcare law to be repealed. Even among doctors who voted for President Trump, less than half - 38 percent - want the law to be repealed. The survey, the results of which were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, also finds strong support for several provisions of ObamaCare. It finds t… Continue Reading