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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21 Million Were Supposed to Be Enrolled in Obamacare in 2016. What the Actual Number Is Likely to Be.
Nearly two years into its implementation, the Obama administration is projecting 10 million fewer Obamacare enrollees in 2016 than were originally expected. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it expects roughly 10.4 million Americans to have health insurance coverage in 2016 through Obamacare. The estimate is a modest increase from the 9.1…Melissa Quinn -
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Senate Parliamentarian: House Partial Obamacare Repeal Dead-on-Arrival in Senate
The Senate parliamentarian warned Senate leadership Monday that a House reconciliation bill that rolls back provisions of Obamacare would be dead on arrival in the Senate and not be subject to a 51-vote threshold, The Daily Signal has learned. A senior Republican Senate aide confirmed to The Daily Signal that Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough told Senate…Melissa Quinn -
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The Key Fact the Media Missed When Reporting on Obamacare Medicaid Expansion
States that accepted Obamacare expansions have had Medicaid enrollment increase 18 percent, and total Medicaid spending grow 17.7 percent, a recent report from Kaiser Family Foundation has shown. Alternatively, states that chose not expand under Obamacare had Medicaid enrollment increase 5.1 percent and total spending grew 6.1 percent. This is not particularly surprising. Obamacare has…Drew Gonshorowski -
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Texas to End Planned Parenthood’s Participation in State’s Medicaid Program
Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, announced Monday that Texas will end Planned Parenthood’s participation in the state’s Medicaid program. “Texas has stepped forward and shown its unyielding commitment to both protecting life and providing women’s health services,” Abbott said in a statement. “The gruesome harvesting of baby body parts by Planned Parenthood will not be allowed…Kate Scanlon -
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Indiana Man Says IRS Fined Him $2,344 for Violating Obamacare’s Individual Mandate
An Indiana man’s IRS bill went viral after he posted a photograph to his Facebook page of a $2,344 fine he claimed was from the federal government for not purchasing health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Benjamin Miller said his insurance skyrocketed after President Barack Obama’s health care law took effect so he decided…Natalie Johnson -
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Obamacare ‘Cadillac Tax’ Could Cost Taxpayers in One City $700K a Year
A so-called Cadillac tax imposed by the Affordable Care Act could cost Lincoln taxpayers about $700,000 annually. Lincoln employs 1,978 people and insures 3,634 (including dependants) with a variety of health insurance plans, some of which are entirely too generous in the eyes of the federal government. Obamacare defines “too generous” as any health insurance…Deena Winter -
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Two More Government-Funded Co-Ops Created Under Obamacare To Close
Two more nonprofit insurance companies created under Obamacare announced Friday they would be closing their doors at the end of 2015, leaving more than 93,000 consumers left to find new insurance next year. Health Republic Insurance of Oregon announced Friday afternoon it would not be offering plans to consumers either on Obamacare’s health insurance exchange…Melissa Quinn -
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Why 6 Government-Funded Insurance Companies Created Under Obamacare Collapsed
A government watchdog overseeing the Department of Health and Human Services delivered the grim financial state of nearly all of the co-ops—that collectively received $2.4 billion—created under Obamacare several months ago. Now, following the collapse of six of the 23 that launched in 2013, the co-ops, or consumer oriented and operated plans, face an uphill…Melissa Quinn -
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Another Obamacare Collapse: Kentucky Health Co-Op Goes Under
In a new blow to Obamacare, the Kentucky Health Cooperative has decided not to offer health insurance plans for 2016. The Kentucky co-op (Consumer Oriented and Operated Plan), a nonprofit health insurer created with federal taxpayer funds under Obamacare, announced its fold on Friday. “It is with sadness that we announce this decision,” said Kentucky Health Cooperative…Leah Jessen -
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Law Firm for the Little Sisters Asks Supreme Court to Hear Its Obamacare Case
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit law firm dedicated to preserving religious liberty for people of all faiths, filed a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, asking it to hear the case of the Little Sisters of the Poor. The Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Catholic nuns who…Kate Scanlon -
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Abortion Survivor to Cecile Richards: ‘I Am So Thankful to Be Alive’
Gianna Jessen wasn’t supposed to live. But she did. Born alive after her biological mother’s botched late-term abortion at a California Planned Parenthood clinic, Jessen was rushed to a hospital after a nurse called 911. In an interview with The Daily Signal, Jessen, now a pro-life speaker and activist, said that abortion supporters must deny her…Kate Scanlon -
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Report: Insurers ‘Lost a Lot of Money’ Selling Obamacare Plans
Insurers lost at least 12 percent on Affordable Care Act plans in 2014, according to a new report. The author of the report, Brian Blase, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, told The Daily Signal in an interview that the losses will mean higher premiums for consumers. He said that…Kate Scanlon -
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These 3 House Committees Plan to Repeal Parts of Obamacare
Months after promising voters they would repeal Obamacare, House Republicans in three committees have introduced proposals to roll back specific parts of President Obama’s health care law. But the plans stop short of a full repeal. Three committees in the House—Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce—approved proposals last week detailing…Melissa Quinn -
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House Democrats Propose Illegal Immigrants Gain Access to Obamacare
The pope’s reminder of the Golden Rule during his visit to Congress inspired a House Democrat to introduce legislation to expand the Affordable Care Act. Last week Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., introduced new legislation called the Exchange Inclusion for a Healthy America Act of 2015, which would allow illegal immigrants health care coverage under Obamacare. “Treat…Leah Jessen -
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Kevin McCarthy Vows to Fight to Defund Obamacare, Planned Parenthood
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy further separated himself from outgoing Speaker John Boehner Tuesday night, vowing to fight to the end for conservative policies if he takes the chamber’s top seat. Fox News’ Sean Hannity pressed McCarthy hard on conservative frustration that accelerated Boehner’s demise, repeatedly pointing to the House’s failure to unravel Obamacare despite…Natalie Johnson -
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Cecile Richards Has ‘Never Heard’ of Abortion Survivors. Here Are Two.
Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, testified during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday that she was unaware that unborn children can sometimes survive abortion attempts, despite testimony from two abortion survivors before Congress earlier this month. During the hearing, Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., asked Richards, “If a child survives an abortion…Kate Scanlon -
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Obamacare’s Largest Co-Op Collapses, Marking 4th Failure of the Year
New York state and federal regulators ordered the U.S.’s largest nonprofit health insurance provider established under the Affordable Care Act, the Health Republic Insurance of New York, to shut its doors by the end of the year as it continues to trend toward insolvency. The announcement Friday disrupts health coverage for more than 200,000 people….Natalie Johnson -
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What She Saw Changed Her Mind About Getting an Abortion
Justine Curry didn’t mean to get pregnant. Her then-boyfriend Dave Norman told her he was infertile, so they didn’t use protection. “We were not safe at all,” Curry, a recovering alcoholic, told The Daily Signal. Curry, 26, intended on getting an abortion. But first, she had to confirm she was pregnant. Having just been fired…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
This New Lawsuit Against Obamacare Has Legs
For those who thought that the lawsuits challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) were at an end, think again. On September 9, Judge Rosemary Collyer of the federal district court for the District of Columbia refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the entire U.S. House of Representatives against the Obama administration over its…Hans von Spakovsky -
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Why One Republican Thinks an Obamacare Lawsuit Can Stop the Iran Deal
Earlier this month, Senate Democrats blocked a resolution to reject President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, effectively allowing the White House to begin moving forward with the agreement. Republicans, though, remain steadfast in arguing that the debate over the Iran deal is far from over. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., has emerged as one of the…Melissa Quinn