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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news
Debate on Obamacare Repeal Centers on Medicaid. Here’s How States That Expanded It Are Doing.
As lawmakers begin to debate a GOP bill to replace Obamacare, both Republicans and Democrats say they worry that Americans who gained insurance under the health care law will lose the coverage once Congress repeals it. For many, that worry stems from potential changes to Medicaid proposed by Republicans in their plan to replace the… -
opinion
Big Challenges Await Seema Verma, Trump’s Choice to Oversee Medicare, Medicaid
The Senate Finance Committee has completed nearly four hours of confirmation hearings for Seema Verma, President Donald Trump’s nominee for administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. A Senate hearing is always a challenge for a new administration, but the Hill got it right: Verma, the daughter of immigrants from India, “cruised” through the… -
news
Tom Price Clears Senate, Ready to Dismantle Obamacare as HHS Chief
The Senate voted 52-47 early Friday morning to confirm Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., a surgeon who has fought to repeal Obamacare, as the 23rd secretary of health and human services. Not a single Democrat voted for Price, an outspoken critic of Obamacare who is expected to oversee the dismantling and replacement of the health care law… -
opinion
The Question the Left Won’t Answer on Abortion
If there weren’t, well, lives at stake, Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell’s dodging of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson’s questions about whether abortion was the taking of a human life would be comical. Just check out how often Swalwell (who is, of course, from California) dodged it in an appearance Tuesday night (transcript omits some cross chatter):… -
opinion
New Data Show Obamacare Insures Less Than 20 Million, Most on Medicaid
Many Obamacare supporters claim the law has expanded health coverage to upwards of 20 million Americans, but new data shows that isn’t accurate. As part of Congress’ continued push to repeal Obamacare, the House Budget Committee held a hearing this week titled “The Failures of Obamacare: Harmful Effects and Broken Promises.” Heritage Foundation expert Ed… -
opinion
A Dad’s Thoughts on Abortion as a Human Rights Issue
Last Saturday, individuals across our country and in cities like London, Nairobi, Paris, Mexico City, and Sydney coordinated to highlight a spectrum of issues under the banner of human rights. At the Women’s March, advocates for women, immigrants, and education rights coalesced around the idea that advancing their position means making their voices heard by… -
opinion
Trump’s HHS Nominee Holds Firm on Importance of Patient Choice
On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee completed a confirmation hearing for Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to become America’s next secretary of health and human services. Price had previously undergone a confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Combining the two hearings, Price underwent almost eight hours of tough questioning on the Affordable… -
news
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… -
news
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… -
opinion
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… -
news
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… -
news
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… -
opinion
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… -
news
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… -
news
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… -
opinion
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…. -
news
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… -
opinion
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,… -
opinion
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… -
opinion
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…