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
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?… -
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… -
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…. -
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… -
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,… -
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,… -
news
Obamacare Creates Boom for Federal Contractors
Two years ago General Dynamics, one of the biggest federal contractors, reported a quarterly loss of $2 billion. An “eye-watering” result, one analyst called it. Diminishing wars and plunging defense spending had slashed the weapons maker’s revenue and left some subsidiaries worth far less than it had paid for them. But the company was already… -
news
Obamacare’s Contracting Bonanza in 8 Charts
Politics are frozen. Budgets are tight. But business purchases by the Department of Health and Human Services have doubled to $21 billion annually in the last decade and are expected to continue rising. HHS is now the No. 3 contracting agency, thanks to health-law spending combined with outlays for computer upgrades and Medicare’s drug program… -
opinion
The Little Sisters of the Poor Just Fought Another Battle Against the Obamacare Mandate
Today the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver will hear oral argument in the Little Sisters of the Poor’s challenge to the Obamacare abortion-inducing drug mandate “accommodation.” The case, made famous by Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s midnight injunction almost one year ago, challenges an “accommodation” the Obama administration has offered to religious non-profit organizations allowing… -
news
Map Tells Whether Obamacare Makes You Pay for Abortions in Your State
Pro-life Americans long have criticized the Obama administration for failing to disclose coverage of abortion under the Affordable Care Act. Now, taking matters into their own hands, they’ve come up with a solution. Two leading pro-life organizations, the Charlotte Lozier Institute and the Family Research Council, teamed up to design a state-by-state map that clearly… -
news
Tennessee Facing Fight Over Obamacare Medicaid Expansion
NASHVILLE—Tennessee Republicans, after having just increased majorities in the state’s General Assembly, likely will have to decide whether to expand Medicaid in the upcoming 2015 legislative session. That issue and others are expected to dominate the 2015 gathering, scheduled to begin in January. State Senate Democratic Caucus spokesman Matt Anderson said last week that, although in… -
news
Democrats Failed Middle Class in Passing Obamacare, Top Senator Says
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., bucking the White House and the party line, said in a speech yesterday that Democrats were wrong to focus on and pass the Affordable Care Act in 2010 — when Americans were crying out for a fix for the stagnant economy. Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said in an… -
opinion
FDA’s Final Menu Labeling Rule: Going Way Beyond What’s Required Under Obamacare
Today, the Food and Drug Administration made its final menu labeling rule available and it’s even worse than expected. The mandatory menu labeling requirement comes courtesy of Obamacare. Under the statute, “a restaurant or similar retail food establishment that is part of a chain with 20 or more locations” must provide nutritional information for standard… -
opinion
In Year Two, Obamacare Is Off to Another Bad Start
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act seems like an unending nightmare. Desperate for some good news, the White House is justly relieved and celebrating the fact that the government website is not plagued with last year’s disasters. But other big challenges loom, including the administration of the law’s hideously complex insurance subsidy system, as… -
news
Family Gets Relief From Obamacare’s Mandatory ‘Abortion Fee,’ but Pro-Lifers Aren’t Rejoicing Just Yet
A pro-life family won’t be forced by Obamacare to pay for others’ abortions through a “secret fee” after all. Barth and Abbie Bracy, who have four children, filed a lawsuit earlier this year against government officials, arguing that they failed to offer health insurance plans that didn’t cover elective abortions. The Connecticut couple voluntarily dismissed… -
opinion
Can the House’s Obamacare Lawsuit Succeed?
Last week, the House of Representatives filed a lawsuit in a federal district court in Washington challenging the Obama administration’s unilateral actions that have effectively amended the Affordable Care Act. Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other Republicans had threatened for several months to sue in an attempt to rein in the Obama… -
news
How One Senator’s Scheme Could Come Back to Haunt Obamacare
LINCOLN, Neb.—Former U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson may go down in history for casting the crucial 60th vote needed to pass Obamacare, but the concessions he got in exchange for that vote ultimately could doom the health care law. Nelson is well known for negotiating for extra Medicaid money for Nebraska—in what was derided as the Cornhusker… -
news
Obamacare Officials Exaggerate Enrollment Total by Counting Dental Plans
The Obama administration admitted today that it mistakenly inflated the number of health insurance enrollments under the Affordable Care Act by adding in those who selected dental plans to raise the total above 7 million — the White House’s original goal. “This mistake is unacceptable,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said on her… -
news
Vermont Halts Payments to Obamacare Architect Jonathan Gruber
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont’s state government has stopped payment on the contract of Jonathan Gruber following a series of video statements showing the Obamacare architect repeatedly insulting voters and intentionally misleading the public in the crafting of the Affordable Care Act. On Wednesday, Lawrence Miller, chief of health care reform for the Gov. Peter Shumlin… -
opinion
Poor Americans Deserve a More Compassionate Health Care Solution than Current Medicaid
Helping the poor is not an issue that is exclusive to one side of the political spectrum. The question is not whether to help those in need but how best to help them. A timely example that illustrates the differing approaches the left and right have on this is the role of Medicaid in the…