The major development regarding the Affordable Care Act occurred on Wednesday when the Senate Finance Committee under the leadership of Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), inserted a repeal of the individual mandate as part of the Senate Finance Committee’s tax package. According to an analysis by the CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation, “… repealing
Last week Altarum issued a new analysis that demonstrates that the opioid epidemic is costing this country $95 billion in annual costs. More specifically in 2016. According to their research $43 billion was from the economic impact from the loss of life, the next largest costs were $12 billion due to lost productivity due to
Last week a coalition of groups released, Addressing the Intersection of Juvenile Justice Involvement and Youth Homelessness: Principles for Change. The report notes that a young person’s involvement with the justice system can increase their likelihood of later experiencing homelessness. Pointing out that youth experiencing homelessness may be swept into the juvenile justice system
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No breakthroughs on a DACA compromise this past week and as a result other outside action is proceeding. A group of advocates will sponsor a briefing on Wednesday, November 29 to highlight the benefits of the DACA provisions. The briefing (see below) will feature business leaders; educators on these young people can assist the economy
There has been no progress on moving a CHIP reauthorization and movement in the Senate was almost impossible this week as the Senate Finance Committee was tied up with the tax package this week. CMS has reallocated a total $600 million to patch up current state shortfalls but that doesn’t relieve state policymakers’ uncertainty without
On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved their tax bill (HR 1) by a vote of 24-16 while the Senate unveiled the outline of their version of tax reform. After various changes the House bill preserved the Adoption Tax Credit while the Senate bill also retains the credit in their version. Aside from
Congress is getting closer to enacting S 534, the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. The legislation, which has had the active support of CWLA, was originally introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to address reports of sexual abuse of Olympic athletes. The legislation has been the subject
Tuesday’s election made Maine the 32nd state to expand Medicaid coverage under the ACA. A ballot initiative to require the expansion was approved by Maine voters with nearly 59 percent of state voters approving the expansion. Governor Paul LePage (R-ME) has blocked expansion since 2012 and he says he will continue to block expansion. He
Last week Wednesday, November 8, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on the impact of opioids on children, youth and families. The hearings were under the banner of two of the Committee’s subcommittees with an emphasis on children. According to the Committee information provided, 61.8 million patients received opioid prescriptions