Health

Congress Attempts CR This Week, Boehner Surprise Alters Outcome

With limited action last week beyond the Pope’s visit to Washington and Congress, the status of a government shutdown looked less clear until Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) surprise announcement that he will be leaving both his position and Congress at the end of October. Signals coming from the House are that the more conservative elements

Health Insurance Coverage Continues to Expand

New data by the Census Bureau released on Wednesday showed a significant drop in the percentage of people without health insurance.  According to the new census report, the percentage of people without health insurance coverage decreased between 2013 and 2014 by 3.0 percent (actual 2.9 percent).  The data is based on the Bureau’s American Community

GAO, Medicaid Expansion: More Access Mental/Substance Use Treatment

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has responded to a request by Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) to examine access to treatment for behavioral health needs. The GAO found greater availability for services in states that expanded their Medicaid program under the ACA then those states that have not expanded. The report indicated that states with expanded

Casey Introduces Bill To Fix Medicaid to 26 For Former Foster Youth

Last week Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) introduced legislation that will help extend Medicaid coverage to young people who aged out of foster care. Under the Affordable Care Act if a young person leaves foster care they are eligible for continued Medicaid coverage to the age of 26. This protection applies to all former foster youth

DOJ Challenging West Virginia Overuse of Residential Placements

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has found the state of West Virginia in violation of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it comes to providing services to children with significant mental health conditions.  The Justice Department holds that the state has a very high rate of placements into segregated

Supreme Court Puts Aside Latest Challenge to Health Care Law

Last week was a historic week for the U.S. Supreme Court and on Thursday June 25, the Supreme Court issued one of its most anticipated decisions of the term with a 6 to 3 rejection of the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act. The Court in King V Burwell rejected the challenge by the

House and Senate Committees Pass Labor-HHS Bills

  Last week both houses moved on an appropriations bill for the departments of HHS, Education and Labor.  The House Appropriations Committee moved the bill that had been approved by the Subcommittee a week earlier while in the Senate the Subcommittee and then the full Committee acted on their version of a bill on Tuesday

Republicans Discuss Options on ACA, CBO: Repeal Will Cost Money and Coverage

With time running out on this session’s Supreme Court term, Republican senators are discussing their options on how to react to a possible court ruling that would cut-off potentially 6.4 million people from their health insurance tax credits. At the same time the Congressional Budget Office said in an updated review that repeal of the

Letter of Support for Administration Budget Proposals

The Child Welfare League of America is part of a number of groups led by First Focus Campaign for Children, along with Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), Foster Family-based Treatment Association (FFTA), Generations United (GU), the National Foster Care Coalition, and Voice for Adoption (VFA) circulating an advocacy sign-on letter urging support for the Administration’s FY

CWLA Begins Conference, Asks For Virtual Hill Day Action

The CWLA 2015 National Conference starts on Sunday, April 26 with over 60 workshops and additional sessions, presentations, meetings and events beginning the next day.  One of the main features will be Tuesday, April 28, Hill Day in which members are asked to go to Capitol Hill to meet their members of Congress to educate

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