Tag: Trump attack on healthcare

DFL Statement on the Supreme Court Hearing Another Challenge to the Affordable Care Act

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Yesterday, the Supreme Court announced it would hear another lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act. This is the latest in a long series of conservative legal attempts to eliminate the popular health care law, and the first to come before the Supreme Court with Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch on the bench.

If the Supreme Court overturns the Affordable Care Act, 266,000 Minnesotans would lose access to health insurance. Nationwide, nearly 20 million Americans could lose access to the care they depend on.

DFL Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement:

“Once again, the health care of tens of millions of Americans is on the chopping block thanks to President Trump and his Republican allies’ relentless assault on the Affordable Care Act. The Supreme Court hearing another Affordable Care Act case is dire news for Minnesotans everywhere because time and time again, conservative efforts to eliminate the popular health care law have come dangerously close to succeeding. Continue reading “DFL Statement on the Supreme Court Hearing Another Challenge to the Affordable Care Act”

Trump administration to allow Medicaid block grants

States will have the ability to scale back Medicaid spending by converting part of their Medicaid funding into a block grant under a new Trump administration program announced Thursday.

A letter to state Medicaid directors outlines how states can undertake the drastic, controversial change that conservatives have eyed for years.

The move is likely to kick off a furious legal fight. Democrats have been arguing the administration doesn’t have the authority to approve such drastic changes, and Medicaid advocates argue the changes would hurt low-income people and invite states to cut costs and reduce coverage.  Continue reading.

‘You’ve handed us an issue’: Democrats pounce on Trump administration’s health-care move

The following article by Erica Werner and Amy Goldstein was posted on the Washington Post website June 8, 2018:

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), released a letter with other top Democratic senators demanding the administration reverse its move to abandon one of the Affordable Care Act’s most popular provisions — protections for people with preexisting medical conditions. Credit: Mark Wilson, Getty Images

The Trump administration’s startling decision to abandon one of the Affordable Care Act’s most popular provisions — protections for people with preexisting medical conditions — put Republicans on the defensive Friday and handed Democrats a potentially potent political message.

Democrats had already made health care a major focus in their campaigns heading into November’s midterm elections, with polls consistently showing it as a top issue among voters. Now, the Justice Department’s stance in a federal-court case in Texas will allow Democrats to argue that Republicans want to deny affordable health coverage to some of the people who need it most. Continue reading “‘You’ve handed us an issue’: Democrats pounce on Trump administration’s health-care move”

The stealth repeal of Obamacare

The following article by Joanne Kenen was posted on the Politico website December 19, 2017:

The health law has been wounded in a year of Trump.

The manadate’s repeal is only one of several heavy blows to the health law since President Donald Trump and the GOP swept in nearly a year ago. | Evan Vucci/AP

Obamacare survived the first year of President Donald Trump, but it’s badly damaged.

The sweeping Republican tax bill on the verge of final passage would repeal the individual mandate in 2019, potentially taking millions of people out of the health insurance market. On top of that, the Trump administration has killed some subsidies, halved the insurance enrollment period, gutted the Obamacare marketing campaign, and rolled out a regulatory red carpet for skimpy new health plans that will change the insurance landscape in ways that are harmful to former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. Continue reading “The stealth repeal of Obamacare”

Trump vows to repeal and replace ObamaCare ‘disaster’

The following article by Jacqueline Thomsen was posted on the Hill website November 23, 2017:

Credit: Mark Weber

President Trump attacked ObamaCare on Thursday night, calling the health-care law a “disaster” and vowing to repeal and replace it after the GOP passes tax reform.

“ObamaCare premiums are going up, up, up, just as I have been predicting for two years. ObamaCare is OWNED by the Democrats, and it is a disaster,” Trump tweeted.

“But do not worry. Even though the Dems want to Obstruct, we will Repeal & Replace right after Tax Cuts!” Continue reading “Trump vows to repeal and replace ObamaCare ‘disaster’”

Surge in ObamaCare signups surprises experts

The following article by Nathaniel Weixel was posted on the Hill website November 23, 2017:

The number of people signing up for ObamaCare has surged in the first few weeks of open enrollment this year, contrary to dire predictions.

The spike in sign-ups is good news for supporters of the health-care law, but experts warn the early numbers don’t necessarily signify a trend. Final enrollment numbers could still be much lower than in the past, they say.

The first ObamaCare open enrollment period of the Trump administration has been surprisingly robust, despite the uncertainty caused by nearly 10 months of repeal attempts in Congress, rising premiums and insurer exits. Continue reading “Surge in ObamaCare signups surprises experts”

Throwing a bomb into the insurance markets, Trump now owns the broken health-care system

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website October 13, 2017:

President Trump’s decision to halt payments for cost-sharing reductions and his health-care executive order will have ripple effects throughout the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces. Here’s what you need to know. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

THE BIG IDEA: President Trump took two giant steps Thursday to disembowel the Affordable Care Act.

The administration announced late last night that he will immediately halt cost-sharing reductions. These $7 billion in annual subsidies to health insurers allow around 7 million low-income Americans to afford coverage. Continue reading “Throwing a bomb into the insurance markets, Trump now owns the broken health-care system”