Though Senate leadership recently decided to delay a vote on its plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the GOP is still hoping to get the details of that bill ironed out before the holiday. One possible change involves a controversial tax on the wealthy that has long been a target of repeal advocates. [More]
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Senate Delays Vote On Obamacare Repeal Bill Until After July 4 Recess
By 6.27.17
Multiple reports are claiming that Senate Republican leadership has decided to delay the vote on a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care, following a Congressional Budget Office review estimating that 22 million additional Americans will be without healthcare if the bill passes as it is. [More]
Senate Obamacare Repeal Plan Would Leave 22 Million Without Insurance
By 6.26.17
In news that will likely change the way some lawmakers view the Senate’s proposal to gut and replace much of the Affordable Care Act, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that this latest effort would ultimately leave 22 million Americans without insurance on top of those who would be uninsured under the current law, while trimming $321 billion from the federal deficit over ten years. [More]
GOP Revises Obamacare Repeal Bill, Adds 6-Month Penalty For People With Lapsed Coverage
By 6.26.17
One of the Republican party’s biggest complaints about the Affordable Care Act is that it requires most individuals to have some sort of health insurance or pay a penalty. The draft Senate bill released last week gets rid of that financial penalty, but a newly released revised version of that bill replaces it with a waiting period of up to six months for people who are uninsured or let their coverage lapse. [More]
Hospital Groups, Public Health Officials: Senate Obamacare Repeal Bill Makes “Unsustainable” Cuts To Coverage
By 6.23.17
After reviewing the Senate bill to gut and replace much of the Affordable Care Act, groups representing the nation’s hospitals believe that this legislation will leave millions — particularly those with chronic ailments and the disabled — without access to care. [More]
From Damning To Noncommittal To All-In: The Rainbow Of Reactions To Senate Obamacare Repeal Plan
By 6.22.17
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has finally pulled back the curtain on his much-awaited and mystery-shrouded plan to repeal and replace much of the Affordable Care Act, and now that people — including some who were supposedly involved in its crafting — are seeing the proposal, the bill is being met with a wide range of reactions and lots of questions about whether the GOP will have the votes to pass it. [More]
What You Need To Know About Senate Bill To Repeal, Replace Obamacare
By 6.22.17
After weeks of secrecy, Senate Republican leaders have finally released a draft version of the budget resolution they intend to use to repeal and replace much of the Affordable Care Act. [More]
3 Things You Should Know About Crowdfunding Medical Bills
By 6.13.17
With the Affordable Care Act in limbo, and the details of the Republican repeal-and-replace plans still not fully known, a growing number of Americans are turning to crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe or YouCaring to raise money to cover their medical bills. [More]
1-In-4 Families Don’t Seek Medical Attention Because Of Financial Worries
By 6.7.17
With the latest reports suggesting that the American Health Care Act — a budget resolution intended to repeal and replace much of the Affordable Care Act — would leave more than 23 million consumers without insurance and facing higher out-of-pocket costs, it’s no surprise that consumers are a bit uneasy when it comes to their healthcare. In fact, a new survey suggests that in the face of rising costs, some families are foregoing medical care to save a few — or a few thousand — bucks. [More]
CBO: House Obamacare Repeal Plan Leaves 23 Million More Without Insurance; Higher Out-Of-Pocket Costs
By 5.24.17
Nearly three weeks after the House of Representatives narrowly passed the American Health Care Act — a budget resolution intended to repeal and replace much of the Affordable Care Act — the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is estimating that this latest version of the GOP plan will still leave 23 million additional people without insurance, and result in policies that will drive up your out-of-pocket expenses. [More]
15 States Go To Court Against Congress In Effort To Save Obamacare Subsidies
By 5.18.17
Three years ago, the House of Representatives sued then Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell in an attempt to end an Affordable Care Act provision that providers federal payments to insurance companies to reduce policyholders’ out-of-pocket costs like co-payments and deductibles. That lawsuit is still being sorted out by a federal appeals court, but with a new White House and HHS Secretary publicly committed to ending these payments, attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia are attempting to step in. [More]
Target Customer Takes Retailer To Court After Two-Ton Red Ball Crashes Into Car
By 5.16.17
A New Jersey Target customer whose car was damaged after a red, two-ton cement ball came loose in front of a store is now taking the retailer to court because she says Target’s insurance company won’t pay to fix her vehicle. [More]
Walmart To Pay $7.5M After Denying Spousal Benefits To Same-Sex Couples
By 5.16.17
A federal court judge has approved a $7.5 million settlement between Walmart and current and former employees who claimed that the the retailer unfairly discriminated against them by denying health benefits to their same-sex spouses. [More]
Senate Obamacare Repeal Bill May Result In Millions More Losing Insurance; Loss Of Additional Protections
By 5.11.17 — Updated: 5.14.17
When the House passed its version of the American Health Care Act — the budget resolution intended to gut much the 2010 Affordable Care act or “Obamacare” — many, including some Republicans who decided to give their support to the bill at the last minute, assumed that the Senate would address some of its perceived shortcomings: too many people being priced out of coverage, loss of essential health benefits. However, if some in the Senate get their way, the version it votes on could see millions more people without insurance. [More]
We Won’t Get Estimate On Cost Of Obamacare Repeal Bill Until At Least May 22
By 5.10.17
It’s already been nearly a week since the House of Representatives narrowly approved a controversial budget resolution that guts much of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and we still don’t have any estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office of what this massive change to the insurance system might cost. Now the CBO says it may be another two weeks until we get that estimate. [More]
Obamacare Repeal Bill To Face Questions, Changes From Skeptical Republicans
By 5.4.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The House of Representatives has narrowly passed a budget resolution intended to repeal a number of core tenets of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, with 20 Republicans voting against the bill. It now heads on to the Senate, where the GOP can’t really afford to have any of its members voting no. However, a number of Republicans have already expressed skepticism of what’s in the legislation. [More]
House Closes Loophole Protecting Members From Losing Insurance Benefits; Still Leaves Veterans’ Tax Credits At Risk
By 5.4.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
As part of today’s vote on the Republican resolution to gut the Affordable Care Act, the House of Representatives also voted to close a loophole that would have exempted members of Congress and their staff members from possibly losing certain protections from their insurance plans. Meanwhile, lawmakers took no action to protect millions of veterans from potentially losing access to healthcare tax credits if this bill passes. [More]
House Passes Obamacare Repeal Resolution
By 5.4.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
More than a month after Republicans decided to not vote on a budget resolution that would gut the Affordable Care Act, a revised version of that resolution finally came to the House floor for a vote this afternoon amid concerns that there is no estimate yet on what these changes will cost and how they will affect millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions. [More]
