The week started with a bipartisan meeting at the White House on DACA and immigration issues in what can only be described as a meeting of mixed messages as the President bounced between various congressional members and their very different positions on the two issues. Ultimately the one thing that was taken away from the
As reported during the December holidays, there is concern that the Administration is seeking to split up families at the boarder using child separation as a deterrent. CWLA has joined onto a joint letter by concerned groups in calling on Homeland Security to reject such policies. The new administration policy would allow for a policy
The Administration followed up on earlier reports of new work requirements under Medicaid. On Thursday, January 11, CMS unveiled guidance allowing states for the first time in Medicaid’s 52 year history to impose work requirements on people who are covered by Medicaid health insurance. Some groups are exempt such as pregnant women, disabled and elderly
The Administration has released a memo from last March that outlined how the Administration had and is implementing a strategy to undercut and weaken the ACA. The document was released after pressure by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) who blocked Administration nominations until the document was made public. The document was used by then-HHS Secretary Tom
The CHIP reauthorization is still waiting for a final resolution. Due to the most recent CBO analysis (score) a CHIP reauthorization would be significantly less and could pay for itself and perhaps some additional programs. Because of what Congress has done to the ACA, cutting families off from CHIP would not be as cheap. That
The 115th Congress began its second session when the Senate returned last Wednesday. The four key leaders had an initial meeting on that day to decide how they can address an expiring CR that runs out January 19, 2018. The House delayed its return to January 8, after they passed the tax package, the CR
T here were White House talks on a DACA replacement last week but it was unclear what progress was made on replacing the Obama-era Executive Order (E.O) on the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Democrats are making sounds that a DACA fix must be part of a deal done this month.
In case you missed it, during the December holidays, (December 18, 2017), the White House announced the appointment of Caren Harp as the new head of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) in the Justice Department. The position does not require Senate confirmation. Harp is currently a professor at Liberty University School
The CR includes a temporary patch for the CHIP program. The $2.8 billion is intended as an extension that would shore up states through March 2018. Critics question whether funding will last that long. It is expected that 2 million kids will continue coverage because of the small patch. Several states have been sending out
DOL Regulations on Health Plans The Trump Administration continued its assault on the Affordable Care Act. On Friday, January 5, the Department of Labor published a proposed regulation to broaden the definition of group health plans for small businesses. The regulation is seen by ACA advocates as an attempt to circumvent some of the provisions