The Trump Administration’s FY19 budget proposal was released last week and unsurprisingly includes significant health care threats. Most notably, the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid block grants – similar to (but with a lower inflation index than) the Graham-Cassidy proposal from last fall. Additional Medicaid proposals include asset tests, denying...

Last week, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would threaten the ability of disabled persons to sue for discrimination. Disability and civil rights advocates fear HR 620 weakens incentives for businesses to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). According to the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, “Notice and cure” requires the...

In December, it was widely reported that the Administration had instructed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) not to use seven words. It was later reported to be mischaracterization and that they were only instructed not to use them in budget documents to protect against political ideologies. The National Health Law Program’s Executive...

Last summer, the Trump Administration announced an abrupt end to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. Five-year sex education grants will be cut short two years, now ending this June 30. Since the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program began in 2010, the birth rate has dropped from 34.3 births per 1,000 teens to 24.2 births per 1,000...

Nicotine Delivery: A comprehensive study from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Engineering looked at the public health consequences of “electronic cigarettes”, known as e-cigarettes. The report finds e-cigarettes are far less harmful than conventional cigarettes and may help adults quit smoking, but they serve as a gateway for younger people to smoke cigarettes....

The Washington Health Alliance (WHA) released a report last week suggesting that over 45% of health care services delivered in Washington State were low-value. The low-value services stemmed largely from the overuse of services in low-risk populations, like screening for cervical cancer more frequently than recommended. The report estimated the cost of unnecessary spending on...

Idaho is going to allow insurers to sell health insurance that does not comply with Affordable Care Act regulations. The Governor signed an executive order in early January, but recent guidance indicates that insurers would be allowed to exclude benefits, like maternity coverage (if at least one state-based plan provides maternity coverage), restore co-pays for...

Soon after the President decided to stop paying cost-sharing reductions (CSRs), Minnesota and New York received word that their Basic Health Programs would face substantial budget cuts. An Affordable Care Act option, the Basic Health Program (loosely based on Washington State’s former Basic Health Program) is funded by 95% of what the federal government would...

Some states clamored for work requirements for Medicaid recipients once the Trump Administration opened the door. After Kentucky’s approval and legal challenge, a work requirement waiver has also been approved in Indiana. Their newly approved waiver includes burdensome premiums and co-pays, locks individuals out of re-enrollment when they do not pay premiums or fail to...

Join the Temple Beth Am Health Care for All Committee for a captivating discussion, “Learning From Health Care Around the World,” with Professor Aaron Katz on lessons learned from other countries’ health care systems that can be applied to achieve a system in the US that provides affordable, accessible, quality care for all. Aaron Katz is a principal lecturer...