skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Health Care Fights to Watch For in 2018

play audio
Play

Tuesday, January 2, 2018   

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Some health experts are predicting the mother of all Medicaid and Medicare battles this year, as Republicans take a run at cutting social-service programs in order to reduce the deficit.

The GOP failed twice to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017, but succeeded in undermining Obamacare by stopping cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers, and repealing the individual mandate to buy health insurance. Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, said the ingredients are there for a showdown in 2018.

"The congressional leadership has made clear that they intend to pay for the tax cuts that they just passed by cutting major health care programs,” Wright said. "They call it entitlement reform. What their budget indicates is a $1.5 trillion cut to Medicaid, Medicare and other vital health programs."

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the GOP tax bill will leave 13 million people uninsured and lead to at least a 10 percent rise in premiums. Currently, 74 million Americans are on Medicaid, and 55 million rely on Medicare.

Republican leaders have said entitlement reform is necessary to keep the programs solvent.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the ACA is "in a death spiral." Wright noted that Trump's policies continue to impose significant costs on patients.

"Between the repeal of the ACA mandate and the de-funding of cost-sharing reductions, that introduces a lot of uncertainty, which causes premiums to go up,” he said. "It causes some insurers to withdraw from the market, leaving consumers with fewer choices and more expensive premiums."

Wright said he expects that between 10 and 20 states will see insurers leaving the individual market altogether in 2018.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021