politics and healthcare Archives

December 16, 2020

Healthcare After the 2020 Election

We are getting further away from Election Day in the U.S. and getting closer to 2021 when many of the changes voted on and passed will begin to take effect. Americans voted for much more than president that will impact our nation’s healthcare this past November. Several states voted to legalize or decriminalize cannabis (aka marijuana), therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms, and Oregon voters approved a measure that decriminalizes small possession amounts of all illicit drugs.

Five states — Arizona, New Jersey, South Dakota, Montana and Mississippi — voted to legalize some form of cannabis use. Despite being a Schedule I substance federally, defined as having no accepted medical use, a total of 35 states plus Washington, DC now have cannabis as a medicinal option for patients. Cannabis is most commonly prescribed for pain relief but can also be used to treat muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, chemotherapy-induced nausea, lack of appetite from chronic illness, seizure disorders, and Crohn’s disease.

Oregon is the first state to legalize

October 27, 2020

Affordable Care Act, Healthcare Reform

No Comments

Healthcare in the 2020 Election

The United States is in the midst of a presidential election at a time when healthcare is a major concern for Americans, even before the global pandemic. We have covered many of the changes to healthcare during the Trump administration as well as proposals from the candidates during the primaries, and continue to strive to empower and educate our audience on the policies that affect their healthcare costs. As such, we felt it remains important to cover the healthcare records and policy proposals of the major candidates.

Incumbent President Donald Trump ran on a platform of abolishing the Affordable Care Act (ACA; aka Obamacare), saying it would be “so easy.” He claimed in 2016 his ACA replacement would have “insurance for everybody”, “no one will lose coverage” or “be worse off financially”, and that “Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.” In practice, both “Trumpcare” bills (2017’s American Health Care

January 17, 2020

Affordable Care Act, Healthcare Reform, Prescription Drugs

No Comments

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 service and procedure, including dental, vision, long-term care and abortion, with no out-of-pocket charge to patients. Bernie Sanders has often claimed Medicare for All is the only way to address deeper problems in the United States healthcare system, from medical bankruptcies to high maternal mortality rates, especially among poor and minority women. Senator Sanders has proposed allowing importing medication from abroad at

June 8, 2018

Healthcare Reform, Prescription Drugs

1 Comment

Trump’s Speech on Drug Prices Boosts Pharmaceutical Stocks

President Donald Trump gave a speech about pharmaceutical drug prices last month. During his presidential campaign and leading up to his inauguration, he accused pharmaceutical companies with “getting away with murder” for what they charge patients for prescriptions and promised to enact reforms to lower drug prices. After sixteen months in office, his speech last month consisted of few proposals as opposed to proposing meaningful legislation or guidelines that could have an immediate effect on prescription costs and actually led to pharmaceutical stocks rising.

Trump took aim at Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) who he referred to as “middlemen” who implement “gag rules” that forbid pharmacists from telling patients they are spending more than they need to on a prescription (you can read our blog on the laws proposed to combat PBM gag rules here). He also touched on other popular proposals such as removing barriers to generic medications

January 17, 2018

Affordable Care Act, Healthcare Reform, Medicaid

1 Comment

Medicaid Work Requirement

Medicaid is the United States’ public health insurance program for people with low incomes and chronic health conditions. Medicaid covers one in five Americans; mostly children, people with disabilities, and the elderly. The Affordable Care Act (ACA; aka Obamacare) expanded Medicaid coverage to include the working poor (those who make 138% of the Federal Poverty Level or below) who do not typically have access to affordable care. Thirty-two states have implemented the ACA’s Medicaid expansion. Some states, along with the Trump administration, have pushed for imposing a work requirement for Medicaid recipients.

Of the 25 million affected by the Medicaid expansion nearly 80% live in working families, many of whom are self-employed. Close to half of working Medicaid enrollees work for small businesses which often do not offer health coverage. Most of those who are not working report inability to work due to illness, disability, or caregiving responsibilities.

Kentucky