Category: Healthcare Reform

Affordable Care Act, Cancer, Clinics, Health, Healthcare Reform
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President Vetoes Bill that would Limit Access to Healthcare

We are barely two weeks into 2016, and there have already been attempts to limit access to healthcare for Americans.  Last week President Obama vetoed a bill that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka Obamacare) and cut all federal funding to Planned Parenthood.  The veto marks the first time a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act has passed through Congress after more than 50 attempts. In previous blog posts, we explored how the ACA has in fact insured over 10 million people and the many services provided by Planned Parenthood to both men and women.   […]

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Awareness, Health, Healthcare Reform
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World AIDS Day

Yesterday, December 1, has been known as World AIDS Day since 1988.  In the past 27 years, access to care has grown so that 15 million people are able to get life-saving HIV treatment. New HIV infections have been reduced by 35% since 2000; AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 42% since the peak in 2004.  This year’s theme for World AIDS Day is “On the Fast-Track to end AIDS,” and aims to increase investment in the next five years with the goal of reducing HIV infection by 89% by 2030. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is the advanced stage […]

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Awareness, Health, Healthcare Reform, Specialty Drugs
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Transgender Awareness Week

The week leading up to November 20 is observed as Transgender Awareness Week. While new healthcare laws may have expanded access for more Americans, there are still populations that continue to have little to no access to appropriate health care. In the United States, over 27% of transgender/gender non-conforming people have been denied health care. As transgender/gender non-conforming have become more mainstream terms in recent years, one should be aware of the concept of gender identity: “Gender identity” shall mean a person’s gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that […]

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Affordable Care Act, Health, Healthcare Reform, Medicaid
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ACA Insures Over 10 Million People

Having health insurance is vital to one’s health and financial well-being in the United States.  Out-of-pocket medical expenses are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy.  Even with new laws such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—aka “Obamacare”—11.7% of Americans remain uninsured.   Analysts have only recently been able to examine the data of uninsured rates prior to ACA’s implementation to now.  WalletHub released the stats for all 50 states and Washington DC and ranked each by their current uninsured rate; Massachusetts is ranked highest with only 3.28% uninsured, and Texas is ranked last with 19.06%. In numbers, even the last-ranked […]

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Clinics, Healthcare Reform, Safety
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Planned Parenthood’s Family Planning Services

Planned Parenthood has been a controversial organization to many Americans since its beginnings in 1916. Just this week a bill was debated in the Senate to defund Planned Parenthood, which failed 53-46 (required 60 votes to pass).  With political rhetoric and misinformation heard from many speaking on the subject, the kinds of services provided by Planned Parenthood may be unknown or misunderstood by those who could potentially benefit from them. Planned Parenthood began their work when information about family planning and contraception were considered “obscene.”  The founders of the first birth control clinic were arrested and convicted for disseminating contraception […]

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About Us

Welcome to the NeedyMeds Voice! We look forward to presenting you with timely, provocative pieces on healthcare reform, patient advocacy, medication and healthcare access, and other health-related news. Our goals are to educate, enlighten, and elucidate; together, we will try to make sense of the myriad and ongoing healthcare-related changes in the U.S. today.