Healthcare & Policy News
Reporting on health care policy, insurance coverage, and federal health programs. Includes news updates and conservative commentary from The Daily Signal.
-
- Opinion
Flashback: The Obamacare Video That Went Viral One Year Ago
How do you make a parody out of a joke? It’s harder than it sounds. In some ways, you have to get out of the way and let the truth amuse you. Last year when The Heritage Foundation released this parody video, something resonated with audiences. That something was the realization that sometimes the jokes…Ben Howe -
- Opinion
How Obamacare Funds the Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider
Despite promises to the contrary by members of Congress and even the president, Americans now know that Obamacare is entangling tax dollars with coverage of elective abortion. Last week, the Government Accountability Office released a report confirming that more than 1,000 Obamacare exchange plans cover elective abortion but remain eligible for taxpayer subsidies. But that’s…Sarah Torre -
- Opinion
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Wrong Prediction About Abortion in the US
C’mon, Ruth. In an interview with Elle published Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said of current abortion restrictions that the U.S. has “gotten about as conservative as it will get.” Talk about wishful thinking. Ginsburg, a liberal, makes no secret of her pro-choice views, remarking in the interview that “young women, including my…Katrina Trinko -
- News
Family of 6 Says They’ll Go Uninsured Before Paying Obamacare’s ‘Abortion Fee’
Barth Bracy has devoted his life to his Catholic faith. He spent 15 years in the Philippines as a missionary, where he met his wife, Abbie. The two got married in 2002. Barth and Abbie Bracy reside in Dayville, Conn., with their four young sons, whom she home-schools throughout the year. Bracy commutes 45 minutes…Kelsey Bolar -
- News
Why You Can’t Keep Your Plan Under Obamacare, Explained in 3 Minutes
In 2009, President Obama repeatedly told the American people, “If you like the plan your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period.” However, implementation of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, quickly led to the debunking of the president’s claim. But why exactly did millions of Americans receive cancellation…Melissa Quinn -
- News
Conservatives Decry Obamacare’s Hidden Abortion Coverage
Conservatives in Congress are taking President Obama to task for breaking a promise to Americans, if not outright lying, that taxpayers’ money won’t pay for abortions under Obamacare. “Clearly, in this case, the administration lied to the American people,” Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas, said Thursday during Conversations with Conservatives, a group of free market and…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
How Obamacare Forces You to Subsidize Plans That Cover Elective Abortion
Throughout debate and final passage of Obamacare, the president and liberal allies in Congress assured the American people that the expansive healthcare law would not fund elective abortions. “[U]nder our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions,”President Obama declared in 2009. Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirms that’s just another broken…Sarah Torre -
- News
Obamacare Team Knew About Security Flaws but Rolled Out Website Anyway, Documents Show
Just days before the security of the Obamacare website is the subject of a new report by an independent government agency, a watchdog group today released documents showing federal health officials knew about security vulnerabilities in the run-up to the site’s shaky launch last fall. Judicial Watch said it obtained 94 pages of government documents detailing…Melissa Quinn -
- News
Of 33 Companies Behind the Obamacare Website, These 6 Got Most of Your Money
Eleven of the 33 companies entrusted with making the Obamacare website work are billing taxpayers more than anticipated in their contracts. Three of the 33 stand to rake in more than $200 million each, and are among six companies snagging the bulk of the contract dollars. Taxpayers will shell out $1.7 billion to build and operate HealthCare.gov,…John Fleming -
- Opinion
Obamacare Can’t Take Credit for Slower Health Spending Growth
Some of Obamacare’s big supporters say the new law has already contributed to decreases in the rate of growth of health spending. But a new report from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary says the rate slowed because of a slow economic recovery, increased cost-sharing for those enrolled in private plans…Alyene Senger -
- News
Obamacare Premiums in Nebraska to Rise by 11 Percent
LINCOLN, Neb. — Premiums for Obamacare health insurance plans sold in Nebraska will go up nearly 11 percent next year — one of the biggest hikes in the nation — according to preliminary rates released by the state’s insurance department. Nebraska experienced some of the biggest premium hikes in the nation for people buying their…Deena Winter -
- News
Obama Administration Drops Fight Against 3 Businesses Over Abortion Pill Mandate
Two months after the Supreme Court handed down its Hobby Lobby decision, the Obama administration has abandoned its fight against several family businesses arguing for an exemption from the Obamacare abortion drug mandate. Earlier this year, the businesses won temporary relief from the mandate, which they argue violates their religious beliefs. Yesterday's decision means the administration will…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
Obama’s Favorite Court to Rehear Obamacare Federal Exchanges Case
Earlier today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia announced it will rehear a case in which a three-judge panel previously ruled the IRS does not have the authority to subsidize health coverage bought through insurance exchanges run by the federal government. On July 22 in Halbig v. Burwell, a panel of…Elizabeth Slattery -
- Opinion
What You Need to Know About Obamacare’s 18 Taxes
Obamacare created a new entitlement through its exchange subsidies and vastly expanded another one, Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office expects these two pieces of the law to cost over $1.8 trillion over the next decade. To offset some of this new spending, the law includes 18 new or increased taxes and fees that are estimated…Alyene Senger -
- Opinion
Why the Abortion Rate Is Declining
Over the most recent decade for which data are available (2001–2011), the overall U.S. abortion rate, calculated as the annual number of abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15 to 44), has dropped, continuing a trend that first appeared in 1980. The decline has been steeper since 1990, with a brief plateau in the…Chuck Donovan -
- News
How Obamacare Affects Transgender People
Transgender Americans who previously wrestled with the high cost of gender reassignment surgery may find relief now under the Affordable Care Act. Before implementation of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, transgender Americans struggled to find jobs that offered health insurance, according to Kaiser Health News. Plans available on the private market were…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
Did Obamacare Raise or Lower Wages?
Before many of the major provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect earlier this year, pundits and economists on both sides lined up their predictions of how the new health insurance law would affect wages. While it is still early, a new report from the Economic Policy Institute indicates that wages fell in 2014…Salim Furth -
- News
PBS to Air Documentary ‘Humanizing’ Late-Term Abortion Doctors
Taxpayer-funded broadcaster PBS is airing a documentary this Labor Day weekend highlighting the lives of the four remaining late-term abortion doctors in America. The Public Broadcasting Service describes the film, “After Tiller,” as a “deeply humanizing and probing portrait” of late-term abortionists who remain “absolutely dedicated to their work” in the wake of the 2009 slaying…Kelsey Bolar -
- News
IRS Struggling to Figure Out Which Companies Owe This Obamacare Tax
NASHVILLE — Internal Revenue Service officials must enforce a new Obamacare tax designed to collect money from medical device manufacturers, but they’re losing money because they don’t know which companies even qualify for the tax, a new audit shows. On top of that, the IRS wrongly penalized more than 200 of these companies for not…Chris Butler -
- Opinion
Who Will Have to Pay Obamacare’s Individual Mandate Fine?
Millions of Americans are expected to pay a fine rather than buy health insurance. Obamacare’s individual mandate forces people to either purchase a government-approved level of insurance coverage or pay a fine. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently updated its projections on how many will pay the mandate penalty to about 4 million payers in…Alyene Senger