Mifepristone: Science vs Politics discussed the ruling of a Federal District Judge in Texas on Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA that banned the use of mifepristone for abortions. After many challenges, including the current administration, this ruling was mitigated by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which provided a compromise ruling that allowed the use of mifepristone, but only until seven weeks after conception; down from the previous ten weeks limit. This ruling only affected a small number of people. A different conservative Federal District Judge in Texas has now made a ruling on Braidwood Management v. […]
Tag: Affordable Care Act
2020 Primary Election Primer
We are in the beginnings of an election year in the United States and the first primary votes to determine the Democratic nominee will be cast in the coming weeks. Healthcare costs remain a top concern for voters, and candidates have developed varying proposals to improve healthcare, reform the current system, and reduce healthcare costs in the U.S. Independent Senator from Vermont and 2016 Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders has long championed the ideal of single payer healthcare, often referred to as Medicare for All in the U.S. In a single payer system, the federal government fully covers every […]
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Expires
Congress has allowed the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which insures 9 million children in the United States, to expire. The program provided coverage for children in families making under 200% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) as well as to pregnant women. CHIP played a huge part in decreasing the rate of uninsured children from 14% in 1997 to 4.5% in 2015. By taking no action to renew the program before September 30, 2017 the U.S. Congress allowed the program to lose future funding, putting millions of American children at risk of major health complications from ordinarily treatable conditions. CHIP covers […]
Understanding Health Insurance
by Richard Sagall, M.D. Insurance is really a simple concept. But few people, and even fewer politicians, seem to understand how insurance works and why so many of the promises we hear are impossible. Here are the basic concepts of insurance: Number 1 – You Never Win with Insurance – You always lose with insurance. Think about what happens when you have health insurance. Outcome 1 – You get sick, perhaps really sick, and you suffer while ill. You may experience long-term or even permanent disability from your illness. Or, in the worst case, you die. Your health insurance helps […]
Better Care Reconciliation Act
We have been tracking the new healthcare bill being proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives, the American Health Care Act (AHCA). After passing the House last month, the bill was sent to the United States Senate where it was redrafted into the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), which they are planning on holding the vote for after the July 4th recess. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released their analysis report on the BCRA’s impact on the Federal deficit and American’s premiums and insurance status. Previous CBO scores for Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal/replace bills have shown millions […]