“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death. I see no alternative to direct action and creative nonviolence to raise the conscience of the nation.” These words were spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on March 25, 1966, … Continue reading The Most Inhuman Inequality
Racing against the September 30 deadline for budget reconciliation, Republican leadership has thrown all its energy into passing the mind-bogglingly bad Graham-Cassidy repeal bill. However, September 30, the last day of the federal fiscal year, is a significant date for other reasons that right now are being largely neglected by that same leadership. On that … Continue reading Republican legislators’ obsession with repealing the ACA proves they don’t deserve to call themselves public servants.
Earlier this week, after Senator John McCain said he'd prefer that a healthcare bill be subject to hearings before coming up for a vote, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Orrin Hatch of Utah, obliged by scheduling a last minute hearing this coming Monday, September 25. It's clear that Hatch intends the hearing to … Continue reading How to go on record for Monday’s Senate hearing on Graham-Cassidy.
Conservative Republicans in the Senate are going for broke in their attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act before September 30. The latest bill, drafted by Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, combines every bad idea that has appeared in a repeal bill to date and then some. The impact … Continue reading The New Republican Healthcare Bill Doesn’t Only Repeal the ACA. It Also Blows Giant Holes in Medicaid.
Last week the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a 72% cut to funding to support enrolling eligible individuals into coverage under the ACA. This includes a 90% cut to the advertising budget for the 2018 marketplace enrollment period—from $100 million to $10 million—and a 41% cut to funding for navigators, the in-person … Continue reading Forty Percent of Uninsured People Still Don’t Know the Health Insurance Marketplace Exists. Cuts to Outreach Will Make Sure It Stays That Way.
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES In Part 1 we talked about everything the Senate has been doing on healthcare during their alleged vacation. Now we turn to the House of Representatives. It seems so long ago, but the House did pass a repeal and replace bill, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), back in May. So … Continue reading Congress Agrees on Pretty Much Nothing When It Comes to Healthcare. We Can Work with That. (Part 2)
PART 1: THE SENATE Congress has been on vacation since the beginning of August but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been doing anything. There have continued to be new developments in the healthcare debate since John McCain cast the deciding vote against the “skinny repeal” bill on July 28. And if you had to pick … Continue reading Congress Agrees on Pretty Much Nothing When It Comes to Healthcare. We Can Work with That.
