Pandemic upends Trump’s plans to shrink health care safety net

Pandemic upends Trump’s plans to shrink health care safetynet-politico:  Trump has moved forcefully to push unprecedented limits on government health assistance for the poor, trying to follow through on conservatives’ long-held goals for reshaping the health care safety net.  That ambition has slammed into a brick wall amid the coronavirus — with the help of Republican states wary of cutting back health coverage for their poorest residents during a pandemic.

Congress' health agenda barrels toward 2020 buzz saw

Congress' health agenda barrels toward 2020 buzz saw-politico: Republicans and Democrats have a narrow opening to cut big deals on drug pricing and surprise medical bills and address two key concerns of voters, just in time for 2020 electoral politics to drive them apart. Congressional leaders are feeling renewed urgency to do something about the high-profile issues, but they fear impeachment and escalating tensions with Iran could swamp the legislative agenda. And on drug pricing, both sides are reluctant to let the other claim victory on a pocketbook issue that recent polling shows ranks high among voter concerns.

Ding dong! The device tax is dead

Ding dong! The device tax is dead-plasticstoday: It looks like the medical device industry will get an early Christmas present from Congress and President Trump: The House of Representatives approved a $1.4-trillion spending package yesterday that includes a permanent repeal of the 2.3% excise tax on most medical devices sold in the United States. The tax is part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare. (click "continue to site" to go to the article)

Trump pulled into feud between top health officials

Trump pulled into feud between top health officials-politico: President Donald Trump has personally tried to settle the long-running feud between his two top health appointees, telling his health secretary to fix the relationship with his Medicare chief, said three individuals with knowledge of the situation.

Clashes among top HHS officials undermine Trump agenda

Clashes among top HHS officials undermine Trump agenda-politico: President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Alex Azar, and his Medicare chief, Seema Verma, are increasingly at odds, and their feuding has delayed the president’s long-promised replacement proposal for Obamacare and disrupted other health care initiatives central to Trump's reelection campaign, according to administration officials

Schumer seeks focus on health care amid impeachment fever

Schumer seeks focus on health care amid impeachment fever-thehill: Senate Democrats plan to force vulnerable Republicans to vote on legislation that would overturn a controversial Trump administration directive on ObamaCare. The strategy shows Democrats will continue playing offense on ObamaCare, which for years was a political liability for the party. The 2010 law was by and large unpopular until the GOP nearly eradicated it during the last Congress.

Medicare for All complicates Democrats' pitch to retake Senate

'Medicare for All' complicates Democrats' pitch to retake Senate-thehill: The divide over health care among Democratic presidential candidates is raising fears the party might turn an issue that was a key winner in the House midterms into a liability in next year's Senate races. Democratic Senate candidates have been planning to borrow heavily from the playbook used by House Democrats in 2018, when the party won back the chamber in large part because of a pledge to protect ObamaCare against Republican attempts to kill the 2010 law.

AdvaMed once again calls on Congress to repeal the medical device excise

AdvaMed once again calls on Congress to repeal the medical device excise tax-mpn: Trade association Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) calls on Congress to repeal the medical device excise tax following the passage of the Cadillac tax repeal.

House passes repeal of Obamacare tax on high-cost plans

House passes repeal of Obamacare tax on high-cost plans-rollcall: The House passed, 419-6, legislation Wednesday to repeal the so-called Cadillac tax, pleasing health insurers, unions and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers who have long pushed to scrap the levy. The measure would permanently repeal the 40 percent excise tax on high-cost employer-provided health insurance, which was envisioned as a key way to pay for the 2010 health care law. The tax, which Congress twice delayed from taking effect, is set to go into effect in 2022.

Health care continues to define, divide 2020 Democratic field

Health care continues to define, divide 2020 Democratic field-rollcall: Declaring that “starting over makes no sense,” former Vice President Joe Biden said Monday that he would build on Democrats’ signature 2010 health insurance overhaul and that plans offered by rivals for the presidential nomination would reverse gains made under President Barack Obama.

What You Need To Know About The Affordable Care Act After Texas Ruling

What You Need To Know About The Affordable Care Act After Texas Ruling-npr: The Affordable Care Act faces a new legal challenge after a federal judge in Texas ruled the law unconstitutional on Friday. The decision risks throwing the nation's health care system into turmoil should it be upheld on appeal. But little will be different in the meantime., American Health Care Act,

McConnell says Senate Republicans might revisit Obamacare repeal

McConnell says Senate Republicans might revisit Obamacare repeal-reuters: Republicans could try again to repeal Obamacare if they win enough seats in U.S. elections next month, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday, calling a failed 2017 push to repeal the healthcare law a “disappointment.”

Vulnerable Republicans bury Obamacare repeal talk

Vulnerable Republicans bury Obamacare repeal talk-washingtonexaminer: Shortly after the House narrowly passed a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare in the spring of 2017, a majority of the House Republican Conference headed to the White House for a major celebration with President Trump.

Trump Administration, in Reversal, Will Resume Risk Payments to Health Insurers

Trump Administration, in Reversal, Will Resume Risk Payments to Health Insurers

GOP looks to blunt Dems’ attacks on rising premiums

GOP looks to blunt Dems’ attacks on rising premiums - House Republicans are trying to blunt Democratic attacks over rising ObamaCare premiums, an issue that’s poised to play a key role in the November midterm elections.

GOP chairman in talks with Trump officials on restarting key ObamaCare payments

GOP chairman in talks with Trump officials on restarting key ObamaCare payments - House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said Monday that he is in talks with the Trump administration about ways to restart key ObamaCare payments that the administration abruptly suspended this month.

Obamacare, once a GOP target, is now a midterm rallying cry for Democrats

Obamacare, once a GOP target, is now a midterm rallying cry for Democrats

Trump Officials Slash Grants That Help Consumers Get Obamacare

Trump Officials Slash Grants That Help Consumers Get Obamacare - The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it was slashing grants to nonprofit organizations that help people obtain health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, the latest step in an escalating attack on the law that threatens to destabilize its insurance markets.

More Americans pay for ACA health plans, despite Trump administration moves to undercut law

More Americans pay for ACA health plans, despite Trump administration moves to undercut law - The number of Americans who bought and began to pay for Affordable Care Act health plans grew slightly this year, despite repeated efforts by the Trump administration to undermine the insurance marketplaces created under the law, new federal figures show.

States act on their own to fill holes Washington is knocking in Affordable Care Act

States act on their own to fill holes Washington is knocking in Affordable Care Act - The first Sunday after his inauguration, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order directing state agencies to report everything they could do to ramp up the visibility of the Affordable Care Act and persuade more people to buy health coverage under the law.