Republicans have been undermining the Affordable Care Act (ACA) every which way in the past year. Many of their efforts target women. Since last week included International Women’s Day, we wanted to emphasize the threats to women’s health. The ACA created many protections that are at risk as the Republicans introduce and enact new policies....

Amazon is tripling the donation amount to 1.5% when customers make their first eligible smile.amazon.com purchase from March 12 – 31. Select Northwest Health Law Advocates as your supported charity, and then shop as normal (or splurge!), knowing that 1.5% of the purchase will help us promote health justice!

Congress is bickering over health care again as they race toward a March 23 deadline to pass a government spending bill and avoid another government shutdown. The final budget may include funding for reinsurance and cost-sharing reductions intended to stabilize the individual insurance market. Negotiations continue with mixed messages from the White House, Republicans pushing...

As the weeks pass, fewer bills continue through the legislative process and budget proposals garner increased attention. A recent uplifting revenue forecast provides budget writers an additional $647 million to work with. In our new legislative update, we follow the progress of health care access legislation still alive as we near the deadline for bills...

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...