WASHINGTON — Federal auditors said Wednesday a Senate plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement would increase the number of uninsured by 17 million next year and by 32 million in 2026.
Affordable Care Act
Posted inHealth, Politics
CT Dems willing to compromise on Obamacare, Trump says let it fail
WASHINGTON — After the collapse of the GOP Senate health care bill, Sen. Chris Murphy said Tuesday he is willing to compromise, including allowing health plans on the individual marketplace that are not compliant with the Affordable Care Act.
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Pence, Malloy compete to define what GOP is doing to health care
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Vice President Mike Pence told the National Governors Association that the Trump administration is intent on saving Medicaid, albeit by shrinking its reach or sharing more costs with the states. The Democratic governors said the Trump strategy for making Medicaid financially sustainable would either bankrupt states or deny coverage to vulnerable Americans.
Posted inHealth, Politics
McConnell tweaks health care bill to win conservative support
WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell rolled out a new health care bill that is broadly similar to the one that foundered in the Senate last month, but contains a few new provisions aimed at winning over recalcitrant Republican senators. The new bill was excoriated by Connecticut Democrats, and increased Democratic opposition to the effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
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‘Connecticut in the Capitol’ focuses on health care, attacks on the press
WASHINGTON — Dozens of Connecticut officials, business executives, policymakers and leaders of non-profits are here for two days to network and try to figure out what Congress and the federal government are doing, which is stumping even the most knowledgeable insiders lately.
Posted inHealth, Politics
GOP still trying, but Blumenthal says Obamacare repeal in ‘total disarray’
WASHINGTON — The Senate returns from its Fourth of July break this week without a firm strategy on how to move forward on a health care bill that has little public support and has split Republicans. GOP leaders hope to fashion a bill that would win 50 votes, but that appears harder than ever now.
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Obamacare repeal would roll back dozens of federal taxes
WASHINGTON — The Senate health care bill, called the Better Care Reconciliation Act, would roll back nearly $1 trillion in diverse taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act to expand coverage to poor and middle-income individuals. But analysts say 40 percent of the tax breaks would benefit 1 percent of the nation’s richest people, giving critics ammunition against GOP efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Himes tells town hall meeting Trump is playing to public’s fears
WESTPORT — Though he began the night expressing hope in the fight against Republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, fear worked its way to the forefront later in the evening as several successive speakers asked questions about crisis in government.
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DeLauro fights political winds with book making case for social safety net
WASHINGTON — Three years ago, veteran Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro felt compelled to do one of the few things she had never done before – write a book. The result is “The Least Among Us: Waging the Battle for the Vulnerable,” a smooth read about her fight to protect the social safety net and her battles with both Republicans and Democrats who disagreed with her position or her approach. We talk to her about it in this week’s Sunday conversation.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Malloy: Senate bill would cost CT billions, end health care for thousands
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate’s health care bill would result in “devastating” Medicaid cuts to Connecticut, reaching $2.9 billion per year by 2026 and stripping tens of thousands of state residents of health care, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday. “Plain and simple — the Senate Republican version of Trumpcare is a greater disaster for the people of Connecticut…and needs to be stopped in its tracks,” Malloy said.
Posted inHealth, Money
Malloy stands by pledge to aid Planned Parenthood despite cost
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is maintaining his commitment to fully fund Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood in Connecticut if the federal government ends its financial support as part of the Republican plan to dramatically reshape the Affordable Care Act, a spokeswoman said.
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Health insurers: Trump continues key ACA payments, for now
WASHINGTON — America’s Health Insurance Plans said Tuesday that President Donald Trump has continued to make a controversial Affordable Care Act payment to insurers that lowers out-of-pocket health care costs for low- and moderate-income Americans. ConnectiCare and Anthem say the fate of these payments will factor into their decision to continue participating in Access Health CT.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Dems — including CT’s senators — plan to disrupt Senate over health care plan
WASHINGTON — Democrats, with the help of Connecticut’s senators, plan to jam up the Senate this week to bring attention to Republican attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care act. Meanwhile Connecticut Republicans are crying foul over Democrats attempts to save Obamacare.
Posted inHealth
Vulnerable Access Health keeping an eye on other states
With Connecticut’s health insurance exchange teetering — with just two insurers left and neither yet committed for 2018 — the exchange’s board is beginning to watch innovations being considered in other states, including a single-payer system and Medicaid-for-all.
Posted inHealth
Health insurers skewered for again seeking double-digit rate increases
The stakes are even higher this year because the state Insurance Department’s final decision on the rate requests will influence whether the two remaining insurers on Connecticut’s health insurance exchange, Access Health CT, return in 2018.