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
On Monday, November 13, the President nominated Alex Azar to become the new Secretary of Health and Human Services. Azar will fill the vacancy left when Tom Price was forced out earlier this year due to his travel expenses. Azar worked at HHS as the Department’s General Counsel and Deputy Secretary. The focus during upcoming
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
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
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There has been no progress on moving a CHIP reauthorization and movement in the Senate seems almost impossible this week as the Senate Finance Committee gets tied up with the tax package this week. That would appear to kick this can down the road beyond Thanksgiving. The House of Representatives passed their version of a
The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioids Crisis released its final report on Wednesday, November 1. That wasn’t the only action or debate of the week on the topic, but it was the most significant. The Commission Final Recommendations: The report includes 56 recommendations but falls short on what they might cost
On Friday the House of Representatives plowed ahead on passing their version of a CHIP reauthorization which Democrats mostly opposed. The measure was approved by a vote of 242 to 174. The bill (HR 3922) would extend CHIP for five years but would extend community health center funding for only two years. Democrats are opposing
Despite an agreement by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) on modest bipartisan changes to the ACA, the Trump Administration and Republican leaders have been taking aggressive action to undercut coverage and success. The President, HHS leaders, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) were acting to aggressively undercut the