HealthCare Notes

1/19/17

Repealing Federal Health Reform: Economic and Employment Consequences for States

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2017/jan/repealing-federal-health-reform
"Recent analyses have indicated that ACA repeal could double the number of uninsured Americans, reduce access to health services, and increase burdens for health care facilities."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren floor speech on the Affordable Care Act

GOP ACA vote could take away the pre-existing conditions provisions of ACA. Updated- Schumer tweet.

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/1/12/1619584/-GOP-votes-to-take-away-the-pre-existing-conditions-provisions-of-ACA
"The pre-existing conditions part of ACA saves lives...and GOP has just basically voted it down by a 51-48 vote approving the “budget blueprint”. .This procedural vote is the first step in their quest to do away with the law."

Noam Chomsky: The US Health System Is an "International Scandal" -- and ACA Repeal Will Make It Worse

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/39064-noam-chomsky-the-us-health-system-is-an-international-scandal-and-aca-repeal-will-make-it-worse
"In other words, the scandalous nature of the US health care system is bound to become even more scandalous in the Trump era. Welcome back to the future."

Dr. Sidney Wolfe on HHS Nominee Tom Price's "Cruel" Plans to Repeal the Affordable Care Act

Trump Pick Loves Investing In Companies Then Passing Laws To Boost Stock Value

Sanders Launches #OurFirstStand to Protect Healthcare From Trump Future

Sanders Launches #OurFirstStand to Protect Healthcare From Trump Future

"Sanders was joined in the effort by National Nurses United executive director RoseAnn DeMoro, who called on followers to urge their senators to support Amendment 19."

1/14/17

Man Shocked To Learn He's Been Bashing His Own Health Care

Repealing Federal Health Reform: Economic and Employment Consequences for States

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2017/jan/repealing-federal-health-reform
"Recent analyses have indicated that ACA repeal could double the number of uninsured Americans, reduce access to health services, and increase burdens for health care facilities.17,18 This analysis demonstrates that the consequences could extend well beyond the health care system, triggering major reductions in employment and substantial losses in state economic activity and reduced state and local revenues. And these repercussions are likely to reverberate across all states and most sectors of the economy."

GOP Doesn't Want Public To Know How Much Obamacare Repeal Will Cost. Study Shows It Could Be Trillions.

GOP Doesn't Want Public To Know How Much Obamacare Repeal Will Cost. Study Shows It Could Be Trillions.

"Try as they may to conceal the cost of the repeal, an independent study published Thursday estimated that it could cost the states trillions in lost revenue and output."

Obamacare Repeal Threatens Rural Hospitals | Crooks and Liars

Obamacare Repeal Threatens Rural Hospitals | Crooks and Liars

"Nationally, the Medicaid expansion under Obamacare offered a bit of stability for some rural hospitals at risk. Researchers say it disproportionately benefited such facilities, particularly in Pennsylvania and other states with large rural populations, such as Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan. In Pennsylvania, 625,000 people enrolled in the expanded Medicaid program; close to 300,000 came from rural areas, says Andy Carter, president of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. As of October, about 42,700 of Fayette’s residents had Medicaid. That’s close to one-third of the county’s population."

Did Donald Trump Cheat on Social Security and Medicare Taxes, Paying Less Than Minimum Wage Workers? @alternet

Did Donald Trump Cheat on Social Security and Medicare Taxes, Paying Less Than Minimum Wage Workers? @alternet:

"The only way to know for sure is to see his federal income tax returns. But there is indeed evidence already in the public domain that suggests that, on top of being a racist, a misogynist, and a xenophobe, Donald Trump is a tax cheat."

1/9/17

HHS Nominee's Stock Trading Warrants Further Investigation, Watchdogs Say

HHS Nominee's Stock Trading Warrants Further Investigation, Watchdogs Say
"The Democrats' call came on the heels of a letter (pdf) from Public Citizen that makes a similar demand. The advocacy group asks the Office of Congressional Ethics and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Price as well as Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) "for conflicts of interest and possible insider trading"."

GOP Doesn't Want Public To Know How Much Obamacare Repeal Will Cost. Study Shows It Could Be Trillions.

GOP Doesn't Want Public To Know How Much Obamacare Repeal Will Cost. Study Shows It Could Be Trillions.
"Try as they may to conceal the cost of the repeal, an independent study published Thursday estimated that it could cost the states trillions in lost revenue and output."

They Actually Believed We Were "Deficit Hawks" LOL!

Bernie Sanders Destroys Trump From The Senate Floor

1/6/17

The Venerable New England Journal Of Medicine Rips Into Tom Price, Trump's Pick For HHS

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/12/23/1613933/-The-Venerable-New-England-Journal-Of-Medicine-Rips-Into-Tom-Price-Trump-s-Pick-For-HHS
"Tom Price M.D. is Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services. He would only be the third physician to hold that post. Traditionally, the HHS secretary focused their efforts on improving health care for the poor, the sick and the vulnerable. They tended to champion causes such as decreasing tobacco use, improving Medicare and fighting the HIV-AIDS crisis. In a new editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, (NEJM) based on his history in politics, Tom Price looks to go in a different direction."

HHS Director Nominee Traded Health Stocks While Moving Legislation Affecting Them | Crooks and Liars

HHS Director Nominee Traded Health Stocks While Moving Legislation Affecting Them | Crooks and Liars
"The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Rep. Tom Price was trading in health stocks at the same time he was moving legislation that directly affected their value."

GOP Plans to Destroy Our Safety Net Will Also Kill Democracy @alternet

GOP Plans to Destroy Our Safety Net Will Also Kill Democracy @alternet:
"Newt Gingrich openly bragged recently at the Heritage Foundation that the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress were going to “break out of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt model.” That “model,” of course, created what we today refer to as “the middle class.” Ever since the election of Ronald Reagan, Republicans have been working overtime to kneecap institutions that support the American middle class. And, as any working-class family can tell you, the GOP has had some substantial successes, particularly in shifting both income and political power away from voters and towards billionaires and transnational corporations."

Democrats Bust Trump For Rigging His Cabinet With Social Security And Medicare Cutters

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/12/20/democrats-bust-trump-rigging-cabinet-social-security-medicare-cutters.html
"The American people are going to be in for a big shock when Republicans put their agenda into action."

Texas Begins $350 Million Cut In Medicaid Services That Will Devastate Disabled Children | Crooks and Liars

Texas Begins $350 Million Cut In Medicaid Services That Will Devastate Disabled Children | Crooks and Liars
"The state of Texas this week reportedly began implementing $350 million in Medicaid cuts, which federal agencies have warned will be "devastating" to services provided to disabled children."

How Our New Corporate Overlords Plan to Thrive | The Resistance with Keith Olbermann | GQ

12/21/16

The Day Obamacare Was Passed- Behind The Scenes

GOP Rep. Confirms It: Die And Die Quickly | Crooks and Liars

GOP Rep. Confirms It: Die And Die Quickly | Crooks and Liars
"Here's the scary part: Huizenga isn't alone, and these representatives have the best health care money can buy. He really believes what he's saying here, to the point where he'd let his 10-year old son be in pain until the next day instead of going to an Urgent Care facility to have it checked. These people are sadistic, murdering fools. And they're about to unleash their sadism on the rest of us."

Republican Introduces Legislation To Completely Gut Social Security

12/19/16

Texas Cuts $350 Million From Medicaid, Disabled Children Hit Hardest

Trump Considers FDA Chief Who Says People Should Use Medicines “At Their Own Risk”

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-considers-fda-chief-who-says-people-should-use-medicines-ldquo-at-their-own-risk-rdquo/
"President-elect Donald Trump is weighing naming as Food and Drug Administration commissioner a staunch libertarian who has called for eliminating the agency’s mandate to determine whether new medicines are effective before approving them for sale. “Let people start using them, at their own risk,” the candidate, Jim O’Neill, said in a 2014 speech to a biotech group. O’Neill, has also called for paying organ donors and setting up libertarian societies at sea—and has said he was surprised to discover that FDA regulators actually enjoy science and like working to fight disease. A source close to the Trump transition team told STAT that Peter Thiel, the billionaire Trump donor who is helping shape the new administration, is pushing for the FDA appointment for O’Neill, his managing director at Mithril Capital Management. Trump’s focus on O’Neill was first reported Wednesday morning by Bloomberg. O’Neill would be an unusual choice. He is not a physician, and lacks the strong science background that nearly all former commissioners have had in recent years."

12/13/16

Senator Elizabeth Warren at a hearing on the financial abuse of older Americans

After Darkness Fell, Republicans Unveiled Their Sinister Plan To Dismantle Social Security

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/12/09/darkness-fell-republicans-unveiled-sinister-plan-dismantle-social-security.html
"There is a reason why this bill was put forward on Thursday night, instead of in the light of day. Republicans are trying to stealthily gut Social Security. They are hoping that the American people won’t notice that the program has been hollowed out until it is too late. The Republican course of action is both sinister and dishonest. If Trump and the Republican Congressional majority want to cut Social Security, they should look the American people in the eyes and own it. Republicans in Congress are setting themselves up to dismantle Social Security, and they are hoping that the American people will be too distracted by Trump’s Twitter account to catch on. Social Security will only be saved if the public is informed and ready to fight."

Republicans Block Attempt To Lower Drug Prices In U.S.

The Obamacare Economy: More Jobs (+15M), Rising Middle Class Incomes (+$3K), Lower Deficit (-2/3rds)

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/12/8/1564305/-The-Obamacare-Economy-More-Jobs-15M-Rising-Middle-Class-Incomes-3K-Lower-Deficit-2-3rds
"The Republican Repeal Plan would deliver a massive tax cut to the wealthy at the expense of workers and small businesses, who would lose access to valuable tax credits that help make coverage affordable. All told, the Republican Repeal Plan would cause nearly 30 million people to lose their health coverage by 2019, and it would leave states, cities, and counties with a huge new bill for uncompensated care. Of course, the Republican assault on Obamacare also threatens to eliminate basic protections against insurance company abuses, reopen the Medicare donut hole, and shorten the life of the Medicare trust fund. Each and every one of those points should be highlighted in the weeks ahead."