The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website September 22, 2017:
Senate Republicans are trying to revive the momentum to overhaul the Affordable Care Act with the Cassidy-Graham proposal. Here are five things to know about the plan and the rush to pass it. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)
Republicans’ last-ditch effort to repeal Obamacare was always a moonshot.
A bill proposed by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) looks like it doesn’t have enough support in the Senate to pass on a party-line vote. Republican leaders were trying to rush something through by Sept. 30.
The following article by Rob Rousseau was posted on the Paste Magazine website July 21, 2017:
Credit: Jim Rogash
Shortly after my son was born, in late December 2015, he stopped breathing. Let me tell you: having the worst thing you could possibly imagine happen right after the most joyous, wonderful moment of your life is quite an emotional trip. It had already been a difficult pregnancy. My wife had developed gestational diabetes, which required weekly checkups where nurses could monitor our baby’s heartbeat for hours at a time, as well as regular consultations regarding her diet and caloric intake, so any potential harmful effects of the disease would be minimized. We also had to closely monitor her blood pressure and blood sugar levels at home, and eventually had to begin giving her twice-daily insulin injections. So, when the moment of truth finally arrived, we were both extremely relieved that his delivery went about as smoothly as could be expected. At first, anyways.
It was very surreal. One minute, my brain is flooding with endorphins and tears are streaming down my face as I’m staring in awe at this perfect, tiny little person, the culmination of this incredible 9-month journey; the next, a nurse notices something’s not right, snatches him away urgently, a loud klaxon starts going off, the room starts filling up with more nurses and doctors, who I notice are exchanging serious, concerned looks with one another, no one is answering our questions—it was horrifying. I still haven’t really recovered from it. (He’s fine, though. He just needed a few minutes to learn how things worked in the outside-the-womb world.) Continue reading “I’m From Canada. Here’s What It’s Like to Live with Universal Health Care”
The following article by Rachel West and Katherine Gallagher Robbins was posted on the Center for American Progress website July 20, 2017:
An in-home nurse helps steady her patient in Brentwood, New Hampshire, on March 17, 2017. Credit: AP/Charles Krupa
Dismantling Medicaid is at the heart of President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress’ agenda. President Trump proposed cutting Medicaid by half in his budget, and Congress has proposed taking an ax to the program both through their repeal of the Affordable Care Act as well as through their budget blueprints. In all cases, these cuts to health coverage and services for children, people with disabilities, seniors, and low-income adults whom Medicaid serves would be used to pay for tax cuts for millionaires and corporations.
The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website July 20, 2017:
President keeps bringing up letting 2010 law fail
President Trump in Warsaw on July 6. (Czarek Sokolowski/AP)
President Donald Trump on Wednesday again appeared to change his stance on just which path he wants Republican senators to take on health care. But he has long been infatuated with the notion of House and Senate Democratic leaders asking — begging, even — for his help on health care.
This week, the president and his aides have been posturing to put that very scenario in play, even as his own party attempts to resurrect a measure that would repeal most of and partially replace the 2010 health care law in one swoop.
The following article by Aaron E. Carroll and Austin Frakt was posted on the New York Times site July 12, 2017:
As we recently wrote, it’s better for patients to have Medicaid than to be uninsured, contrary to critics of the program. But is having Medicaid, as those critics also say, much worse than having private insurance?
The following article by Robert H. Frank was posted on the New York Times website July 7, 2017:
The total cost of providing health coverage under the single-payer approach is actually substantially lower than under the current system in the United States. Credit Christophe Vorlet
Sometimes described as Medicare for all, single-payer is a system in which a public agency handles health care financing while the delivery of care remains largely in private hands.
Discussions of the California measure have stalled, however, in the wake of preliminary estimates pegging the cost of the program as greater than the entire state government budget. Similar cost concerns derailed single-payer proposals in Colorado and Vermont. Continue reading “Why Single-Payer Health Care Saves Money”
The following article by Meghan Davy Sandvold was posted on the Eden Prairie News website June 22, 2017:
Source: Eden Prairie News
EDEN PRAIRIE — Faith leaders and constituents of District 3 recently gathered outside U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen’s Eden Prairie office. They said they were mourning the potential deaths of those who may not be alive for long if significant changes are made to their health care plans.
Clergy and faith leaders from Congressional District 3 gathered outside of Paulsen’s oce at 250 Prairie Center Drive in Eden Prairie, on Wednesday, June 21, to raise awareness of the impact the proposed American Health Care Act could have on thousands of Minnesotans. Continue reading “Paulsen constituents concerned over healthcare future”
The following article by Lesley Clark with the McClatchy Washington Bureau was posted on the National Memo website May 11, 2017:
Photo: Reuters
WASHINGTON — Do people die because they lack health insurance?
Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, found himself in a pickle (and in a cameo in a Jimmy Kimmel monologue) when he suggested they don’t. He later elaborated that he was making the point that no one would “die in the streets” under the Republican health care plan, because hospitals are required by law to treat any patient in need of emergency care.
But health care advocates say his explanation falls short of reality, pointing to a host of studies that show access to health care does prevent premature death, in the case of Americans with conditions such as cancer, diabetes, coronary heart disease, respiratory failure and asthma. Continue reading “Yes, Americans Die Earlier Without Health Insurance”
The following article by Froma Harrop was posted on the National Memo website May 10, 2017:
The final total on the vote on the Republicans health care bill was displayed at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday, May 4, 2017. Relieved Republicans muscled their health care bill through the House, taking their biggest step toward dismantling the Obama health care overhaul since Donald Trump took office. HOUSE TELEVISION VIA AP
Social desperation tends to land on the doorsteps of the governments closest to the people. Happily for states and cities, the Affordable Care Act turned their challenging populations of sick, low-income residents into customers for local health care businesses. Unhappily, President Trump and congressional Republicans are in full sabotage mode and threatening to bus these unfortunates back to their doorsteps.
Summary: Introduced to the House on March 23, 2016, this is an amendment to the existing Medicare/Medicaid Rules. In the Republican-controlled House members’ eyes it is intended to bring to the forefront chronic injuries and illnesses and making sure that as they call it “BCP”‘s (Better Care Program”) is available to those who qualify. It lists MANY situations and conditions and coverages that seem to apply only to certain people based on Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D.
Takeaway: Rep. Paulsen voted for this amendment. While there doesn’t appear to be any major wording changes from what’s already law, the most recent Medicare coverage booklet was release in October of 2016.
Although this bill died, it’s worth re-reading your booklets.ANYONE, who is on Medicare or Medicaid should review their booklet to become completely aware of what does affect you based in your situation.
