Kansas Gov. Brownback: Trump Reportedly Will Send Beleaguered Republican to Rome as Ambassador to U.N. for Food and Agriculture Posted by Editor on March 11, 2017 in Executive Branch 0 Comment “Gov. Brownback may be looking for any chance to escape a job that’s been going south virtually since the moment he won reelection in 2014. And don’t expect most Kansans to resent Brownback for abandoning his office: A seemingly never-ending budget crisis has made him one of the nation’s most unpopular governors, and polls taken last year found that barely one-in-four voters approved of his performance.”
GOP TrumpCare: Big Tax Cuts for Wealthy, Insurers, Drug Companies Posted by Editor on March 11, 2017 in Healthcare 0 Comment GOP TrumpCare “eliminates ACA taxes on wealthy individuals and insurance and drug companies and greatly expand tax-sheltering opportunities for high-income people through health savings accounts (HSAs).The 400 highest-income taxpayers would get annual tax cuts averaging about $7 million each.”
Under GOP TrumpCare Replacement, Health Insurance Options for Middle- and Low-Income People Would Shrink Posted by Editor on March 11, 2017 in Healthcare 0 Comment “The insurance tax credits in this bill do not vary with a person’s income and are not pegged to the cost of a particular plan… Premiums would increase more with age than would the federal assistance to help pay for coverage.The bill would allow insurers to set premiums for the oldest adults (64 years old) at least five times higher than premiums for the youngest adults (18 years old) for the same coverage, but the tax credits for the older adults would be only two times as large as those offered the youngest adults.”
Big Tax Changes in the House GOP TrumpCare Plan Posted by Editor on March 11, 2017 in Healthcare 0 Comment “In addition to major revisions to Medicaid and other parts of the health care system, the American Health Care Act proposes several changes to tax law, including repealing nearly all ACA taxes, delaying implementation of the excise tax on high-cost health plans (the “Cadillac tax”), replacing the current premium tax credit with a new refundable health insurance credit, and enhancing Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Many of the provisions would repeal taxes on high-income households enacted during the Obama administration.”
GOP Tax Credits Would Make Health Insurance Far Less Affordable in High-Cost States Posted by Editor on March 11, 2017 in Healthcare 0 Comment “The losses would be larger for older and lower-income consumers, and lower-income consumers would also lose help with deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. Consumers’ costs would probably increase even more than tax credits would fall, since the House plan would likely cause individual market premiums to rise.”
Medicare: GOP Repeal Bill Threatens Medicare Solvency to Cut Taxes for Wealthy Posted by Editor on March 11, 2017 in Healthcare 0 Comment “The repeal of the additional 0.9 percent payroll tax on high income earners will reduce the solvency of the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund by three years.”
Paying a Visit to the Doctor: Current Financial Protections for Medicare Patients Posted by Editor on March 11, 2017 in Healthcare 0 Comment “Under current law, Medicare has several financial protections in place that are designed to safeguard Medicare beneficiaries—seniors and people with permanent disabilities—from unexpected and confusing charges when they seek care from doctors and other practitioners. These protections include the participating provider program, limitations on balance billing, and conditions on private contracting.”
Medicare Under Attack by GOP: Backs “Balance Billing” for Medicare Patients Posted by Editor on March 11, 2017 in Healthcare 0 Comment “HHS Secretary Tom Price is backing legislation that will allow physicians to bill seniors for charges that are more than the rates approved by Medicare. He claims the move would draw more physicians to enroll in the program…Current law does not allow physicians participating in Medicare to bill patients more than the program’s payment rate for any service.”
House Republicans Would Let Employers Require Workers’ Genetic Test Results Posted by Editor on March 11, 2017 in Healthcare, Legislature 0 Comment “A little-noticed bill moving through Congress would allow companies to require employees to undergo genetic testing or risk paying a penalty of thousands of dollars, and would let employers see that genetic and other health information. Giving employers such power is now prohibited by legislation including the 2008 genetic privacy and nondiscrimination law known as GINA. The new bill gets around that landmark law by stating explicitly that GINA and other protections do not apply when genetic tests are part of a ‘workplace wellness’ program.”
5 Trump Cabinet Members Who’ve Made False Statements to Congress Posted by Editor on March 11, 2017 in Executive Branch 0 Comment “Attorney General Jeff Sessions isn’t alone.”