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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- Opinion
Chart of the Week: How Much Will Obamacare Fines Continue to Rise?
If you failed to purchase health insurance, expect tax penalties to double this year. And don't forget to report your health insurance status directly to the Internal Revenue Service — they're gearing up to collect. Check out the fines to come this year and in 2016 in the chart below. Thanks, Obamacare! >>Related: New Year…Kelsey Lucas -
- Opinion
5 Reasons to Repeal the Entirety of Obamacare in 2015
The debate over Obamacare is as strong as ever, despite being passed into law nearly five years ago. Here are five of the biggest reasons Congress should repeal Obamacare in 2015: Obamacare creates $1.8 trillion in new health care spending and uses cuts to Medicare spending to help pay for some of it. The law’s exchange…Alyene Senger -
- News
How the White House Responded to Harvard Professors Complaining About Obamacare Costs
White House spokesman Josh Earnest was on the defensive Tuesday when Fox News’ Ed Henry pressed him on Harvard professors’ criticism of Obamacare amid rising health care costs. “Here are some of the same professors who were advisers to the president’s first campaign in 2008, advocated the Affordable Care Act,” Henry said, citing the New…Natalie Johnson -
- News
John Kasich Defends Medicaid Expansion in Ohio
Gov. John Kasich demanded fiscal responsibility and defended his Obamacare Medicaid expansion during a recent speech before the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. “People, ya know, there’s all this thing about Republicans don’t wanna spend and Democrats do. Conservatives on the Republican side say, ‘We want smaller government.’ Well, go and talk to them about how…Jason Hart -
- News
Harvard Professors, Once Champions of Obamacare, Take a Different Tack as Health Care Costs Rise
Despite its inconsistencies, Obamacare seems to have one consistent trend: Those who once supported the law now want immunity from it. The latest case study is Harvard University. The university’s faculty is fighting against rising health care costs largely driven by the Affordable Care Act—the very legislation professors at Harvard once supported. Members of the…Natalie Johnson -
- News
Mia Love Vows to Do ‘Everything Humanly Possible to Stop Obamacare’
Rep.-elect Mia Love will join congressional Republicans in the fight against Obamacare tomorrow. Yesterday, on ABC News’ “This Week,” Love promised to do “everything humanly possible to stop” the health care law. Love told host Martha Raddatz that she plans to uphold her promise to Utah voters by backing Ted Cruz’s efforts to repeal and…Paul Runko -
- News
New Year Brings New Obamacare Fines
Millions of Americans are facing new tax penalties in 2015 courtesy of the Affordable Care Act. Fines for failing to purchase health insurance are set to double, and for the first time, the Internal Revenue Service is gearing up to collect. If you don’t have coverage in 2015, you’ll pay either $325 or 2 percent…Philip Wegmann -
- News
This Sheriff Wants More ‘Outrage’ Over Abortion of Black Babies
According to this sheriff, black lives matter—even the ones in the womb. Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke has been a vocal critic of anti-police demonstrations in the wake of the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. So when Clarke saw New York Times reporter Mitch Smith covering a “die-in” protest on Twitter, he responded. Clarke…Kate Scanlon -
- News
Minnesota Businesses Score Obamacare Exemptions
Do you believe in miracles? Ask Greg Hall, whose company supplied technology and know-how that helped rescue 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for more than two months in 2010. Almost as miraculous, Hall’s American Manufacturing Co. just received a permanent federal exemption from provisions of the Affordable Care Act that contradict the Catholic deacon and businessman’s…Tom Steward -
- News
Nicki Minaj: My Abortion Has ‘Haunted Me All My Life’
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, rapper Nicki Minaj openly discussed her decision to have an abortion, a choice that she says has “haunted me all my life.” While attending the prestigious LaGuardia Performing Arts High School in New York and dating an older man from Queens, Minaj discovered she was pregnant. “I was a…Philip Wegmann -
- News
A New PAC Focusing on Obamacare Is Run By Doctors, Nurses
Beleaguered members of Congress who support Obamacare and squeaked by in the recent election now have a nemesis – a PAC of doctors, surgeons and nurses demanding they change their ways because the health-care law will only wreak more havoc in 2015. “A lot of the Democrats in Congress have gotten the message in this…Tori Richards -
- News
Obama Administration Celebrates Medicaid Enrollment Explosion
President Obama’s administration began celebrating Christmas early by announcing 9.7 million Americans have enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program in the past year. “As we approach the New Year, we take time to reflect on the many individuals and families who have been helped by the Affordable Care Act,” began the U.S. Department…Jason Hart -
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Why Obamacare Is Prompting Small Businesses to Drop Coverage
For two decades Atlanta restaurant owner Jim Dunn offered a group health plan to his managers and helped pay for it. That ended Dec. 1, after the Affordable Care Act made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Health-law subsidies for workers to buy their own coverage combined with years of rising costs in the company…Jay Hancock -
- Opinion
Here’s a Viable Replacement for Obamacare
In the wake of Republican mid-term electoral victories, and with support for the president’s health care law registering new lows in the Gallup survey, it is time to consider what a “repeal and replace” strategy for Obamacare might actually look like. While it is true that the politics and timing remain fluid, it is still…Edmund Haislmaier -
- Opinion
Why the Abortion Rate Is the Lowest It’s Been Since 1973
The abortion rate keeps dropping. The latest numbers from the CDC, released last week, show that the abortion rate is the lowest it’s been since 1973, the year the Supreme Court manufactured a constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade. This raises two important questions: What is the cause of the decline in abortion?…Ryan T. Anderson -
- News
Forget What Gruber Said. We Need to See His Obamacare Economic Modeling Results.
There is more to this week’s House hearing with Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Jonathan Gruber than just an examination of his disparaging comments about the American public’s understanding of Obamacare. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asked Gruber for copies of his taxpayer-funded modeling results, his work…Robert Moffit -
- Opinion
Conscience and Abortion Funding Concerns in the CRomnibus
The CRomnibus released late last night is fraught with the same bloated spending that has propelled the nation further into debt. In addition to serious fiscal concerns with the massive spending bill—not to mention the problems inherent in dropping a 1000-plus-page bill at the eleventh hour—the CRomnibus has some concerning provisions on life and conscience….Sarah Torre -
- Opinion
CRomnibus Doesn’t Do Enough on Obamacare
The CRomnibus funding bill introduced last night makes a few small changes to parts of Obamacare but the major aspects of the law remain unchanged. These changes do not go far enough and should not be a distraction from the larger spending provisions that are operating on autopilot: the Medicaid expansion and the government exchanges…Alyene Senger -
- News
At Obamacare Hearing, Lawmaker Tells Heartbreaking Story of Husband’s Death
Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., shared the heartbreaking story of her husband’s death today and outlined how the glitches in Obamacare have real-life consequences for Americans, including her. Lummis spoke about her own experiences with the Affordable Care Act during a House Oversight and Government Reform hearing, which focused on the transparency of Obamacare. Marilyn Tavenner,…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
More Proof Obamacare Is Increasing Coverage, but Not Access to Health Care
Many of Obamacare’s beneficiaries have already discovered or will eventually discover that there’s a big difference between insurance coverage and access to health care services. Today, the New York Times highlighted a report by the Department of Health and Human Services that shows access to care in the Medicaid program is very limited. The study,…Alyene Senger