No Ruling Yet on ACA Lawsuit Threatening People with Pre-existing Conditions

The good news this week is that Senator McConnell indicated the Senate has no plan to repeal the ACA again soon, despite a likely “yea” vote from newly-(re)minted Senator…

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Tough Hearings for Trump’s Latest Supreme Court Nominee

Judge Brett Kavanaugh was in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hot seat last week. The Supreme Court confirmation hearings were intense with protesters and leaked confidential (or at least recently…

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Immigrants Dropping Benefits in Anticipation of New Public Charge Rules

Advocates continue to expect the Trump administration to issue proposed “public charge” rules. A leaked draft earlier this year changes the definition of when a legal immigrant (and their…

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Two Upcoming Events Pack a Potential Health Care Punch

The current threats to our health care are multi-fold. Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, has the potential to undermine the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and important health care…

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Medicaid Work Requirements Undercut Program’s Intent

The National Health Law Program (NHeLP) filed a lawsuit last week challenging the onerous work requirements approved for the Arkansas Medicaid program. They profiled the three Arkansas Medicaid enrollees…

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Read the Fine Print on Short Term Junk Insurance Plans!

The Administration issued final rules on short-term junk insurance plans, extending the maximum length of coverage from three to 12 months. The final rule also allows insurers to…

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Washington Insurer Reverses Gender Dysphoria Policy

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington recently reversed their blanket policy excluding breast augmentation as a treatment for gender dysphoria, the clinical diagnosis for transgender men and women. The…

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The Federal Government is Busy Reviewing “Gag Rule” Comments

Over 204,000 comments(!) were submitted on proposed changes to the Title X program at the end of July. NoHLA commented on the grave impacts that…

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Washington Receives Grant to Review Coverage of Mental Health and Addiction Services

A new federal grant of $284,135 will allow the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) to evaluate if health insurers in Washington offer comprehensive and affordable health coverage for…

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In the Top 5 for Kids Health Care!

For the third year in a row, the KIDS COUNT Project finds Washington State in 5th place among states for children’s health care. Kudos to the Health Coalition for…

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