Healthcare & Policy News
Reporting on health care policy, insurance coverage, and federal health programs. Includes news updates and conservative commentary from The Daily Signal.
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HHS Nominee Tom Price Urges Medicaid Changes to Improve Health Care
President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services pushed Tuesday for changes to Medicaid, telling senators the program is in need of repair. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., testified before the Senate Finance Committee, where Democrats pressed him for details on Republicans’ plan to replace Obamacare. Their questions included whether that plan would…Melissa Quinn -
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Majority of Americans Want Some Abortion Restrictions, Object to Taxpayer Funding, Poll Says
A majority of Americans are in favor of stopping taxpayer funding of abortions and banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, according to a new Marist poll commissioned by the Knights of Columbus. “There is a consensus in America in favor of significant abortion restrictions, and this common ground exists across party lines, and even…Caleb Ecarma -
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Trump Reinstates Policy Protecting Taxpayer Dollars From International Abortion Activity
In one of his first official actions, President Donald Trump reinstated the life-affirming Mexico City policy, ensuring that American taxpayers do not fund international organizations that perform or promote abortion overseas. The news comes just after the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion on demand across the country. Pro-life Americans are undoubtedly…Melanie Israel -
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Trump’s Opening Shot on Trade, Abortion, Federal Employees
President Donald Trump took executive actions Monday on trade, federal workers, and international abortion policy. Trump reinstated the Mexico City policy, which specifies that federal funds for family planning go only to foreign nongovernmental organizations that agree not to perform or promote abortions as a method of family planning in other countries. “He has been very…Fred Lucas -
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HHS Pick Tom Price Pledges to Meet ‘Needs of All’ After Obamacare Repeal
Rep. Tom Price, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, countered Democrats’ claims about the consequences of repealing Obamacare, telling senators that “nobody’s interested in pulling the rug out from under anybody.” Price, R-Ga., appeared Wednesday before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in a…Melissa Quinn -
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In Repealing Obamacare, Congress Should Look to the 2015 Reconciliation Bill
In the coming days and weeks, Congress will work to repeal major parts of Obamacare using the budget reconciliation process. This is the same process Congress used last year to send a repeal bill to President Barack Obama’s desk. Budget reconciliation is the favored vehicle for repeal because it is not subject to a Senate…Alyene Senger -
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How Many Americans Paid the Obamacare Tax Penalty in 2016
About 6.5 million Americans paid an average penalty of $470 for not having health insurance in 2015—20 percent fewer than the year before, according to data released Tuesday by the IRS. The IRS collected $3 billion, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a letter to members of Congress. The individual mandate is the most unpopular…Phil Galewitz -
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As Congress Plots Repeal, Former Pennsylvania Democrat Faces $784 in Monthly Premiums Under Obamacare
Before President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, he promised Americans they would have quality, affordable health care, and would be able to keep their same health insurance plans and doctors. But in the three years since Obamacare’s exchanges opened for business, Ross Schriftman, 64, said none of those promises have come…Melissa Quinn -
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70% of US Counties Have Only 1 or 2 Insurers on Obamacare Exchanges
Forthcoming research by The Heritage Foundation finds that insurer competition in the Obamacare exchanges is worse than ever in 2017, with 70 percent of counties having only one or two insurers selling coverage. As shown in the map, consumers in nearly one-third of counties have no choice of insurer on their Obamacare exchange in 2017….Alyene Senger -
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The Obamacare Taxes Dividing Republicans
Republicans have coalesced around a strategy for repealing Obamacare using a budget tool called reconciliation. But a divide has emerged among some Republican senators who, splitting from their conservative colleagues, believe they should delay a repeal of Obamacare’s taxes until a replacement plan is implemented. On one side of the debate are Republican Sens. Bob…Melissa Quinn -
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Obama Health Secretary’s Speech Ignores the Consequences of Obamacare
On Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell gave a speech in support of Obamacare proclaiming the benefits of Obamacare and cautioning against repealing and replacing the law, as Congress has promised to do. Unsurprisingly, she left out some critical details from her list of Obamacare “benefits.” Regarding insurance coverage, Burwell said: On access,…Jean Morrow -
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The Right Way to Repeal Obamacare
Last November, the American people voted for change in Washington. They elected Republican majorities to both chambers of Congress and elected a Republican president because, as a party, we pledged to fix the broken status quo of the past eight years. Reforming our dysfunctional federal government and restoring sanity to our nation’s capital starts with…Sen. Mike Lee -
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Holding Obamacare Repeal Hostage for Replace Guarantees Its Defeat
After six years of pushing for a repeal of Obamacare, some on the right are now critiquing Congress’ effort for repeal. Their arguments do more to confuse the issue than to present a viable path forward for eliminating the harmful effects of this law. Congressional Republicans appear set to finally repeal Obamacare using reconciliation, a process…James Wallner -
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New Legislation Could Open Up Health Care Options After an Obamacare Repeal
Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., has introduced a bill in the House that, if passed, will allow individuals to decide how they want their health care funds to be spent, without the influence of the government or health insurance providers. Brat said that the health savings account legislation is a way for lawmakers to prove to…Rachel del Guidice -
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While Senate Democrats Attack Trump’s HHS Pick Over Health Care Stock, These Democrats Hold It Too
At least three Democratic senators own significant health care industry stocks that could undermine their Senate leadership’s push against the nomination of Rep. Tom Price, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee as secretary of health and human services, The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group has learned. Price, a Georgia Republican, has been harshly criticized by Democrats…Richard Pollock -
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Don’t Let the Media Confuse You: Obamacare Is a Policy Failure
Leave it to the media, which spent the latter half of 2016 highlighting how outrageously expensive Obamacare premiums were becoming, to suddenly shift gears in 2017 and stress the health law’s many “pluses.” Such was the case in a recent interview with Heritage President Jim DeMint, in which CNN anchor Carol Costello suggested that lawmakers…Alyene Senger -
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The Obamacare Executive Orders Trump Could Issue on Day One
President-elect Donald Trump may be following President Barack Obama’s lead come Jan. 20, using executive orders to roll back parts of the outgoing president’s signature health care law. During a meeting with Republicans on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Vice President-elect Mike Pence said the president-elect plans to kick off his administration by signing executive orders to begin…Melissa Quinn -
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Cruz, Lee, Rubio Call on Senate Leaders to Repeal ‘as Many Provisions of Obamacare as Possible’
Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, and Marco Rubio of Florida are reaffirming their support for repealing Obamacare using reconciliation this year, but are calling on Senate leaders to craft a bill that goes further than previous legislation passed in 2015. “The American people have given Republicans an historic opportunity to…Melissa Quinn -
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Obamacare Repeal Must Be on Day One: Congress Has No Excuses
In less than three weeks’ time, when Donald Trump becomes our next president, he will take an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. It is fitting, then, that Trump has committed to repealing and replacing one of his predecessor’s most infamous unconstitutional policies, the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare….Jim DeMint