Supreme Court Rejects Appeal by Maine Healthcare Workers Challenging Vaccine Mandate

Healthcare workers

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an emergency appeal from Maine healthcare workers attempting to block the state’s vaccine mandate.

The group of unvaccinated workers argued that the law violated their First Amendment rights because the law doesn’t have a religious exemption.

According to the Associated Press, Maine is one of three states including New York and Rhode Island that have vaccine mandates that lack religious exemptions for healthcare workers.

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Roughly 40 Percent of Americans Say They Recently Suffered Financial Difficulties, Study Shows

Soldiers assigned the Ohio National Guard’s HHC 1-148th Infantry Regiment – 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and the Ohio Military Reserve, give the thumbs-up for troopers assigned to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, to send more vehicles through the line at a drive through food distribution event at the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, May 9, 2020. The food bank teamed up with the Ohio National Guard and the Highway Patrol to conduct the first-ever drive through event at the food bank. More than 700 Ohio National Guard and Ohio Military Reserve members were activated to provide humanitarian missions in support of Operation Steady Resolve COVID-19 relief efforts, continuing The Ohio National Guard’s long history of supporting humanitarian efforts throughout Ohio and the nation. To date, the Ohio National Guard has assisted in the distribution of more than 9.9 million pounds of food and pantry items to Ohioans in need. (Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Beth Holliker)

Over 40% of U.S. households said they experienced severe financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing difficulties paying bills, credit cards and draining their savings, according to a Harvard University report.

The survey conducted by the Harvard T.H.Chan School of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the National Public Radio asked roughly 3,600 participants between July and August about problems they faced during the pandemic and how it affected their lives in recent months. Respondents were asked about financial, healthcare, education and personal safety concerns.

Roughly 30% of adults interviewed said they used up all or most of their savings during the pandemic, while 10% reported they had no savings before the pandemic began, according to the report.  About one in five households had difficulties paying credit cards, loans, and other debts as well as utilities.

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Wisconsin Democrats Renew Efforts to Rollback Act 10

Chris Larson

Ten years after Act 10 became law and changed what Wisconsin school teachers can include in their school contracts, Democratic lawmakers in the state continue to try and roll it back.

Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, and a handful of Democrats this week introduce what they are calling the Collective Bargaining for Public Education Act.

“Wisconsin’s public education sector has a unique and critical role to play in our state. To ensure the effectiveness of these institutions, we rely on highly qualified individuals and their talents to move our state forward,” Larson said in a statement. “The legislation we have introduced establishes the right of employees of school districts, CESAs, technical college districts, and the UW System to collectively bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of employment.”

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Commentary: BidenCare Blows ObamaCare Costs Out of the Water

PolitiFact’s 2013 “Lie of the Year” came from former President Barack Obama selling ObamaCare, his massive government takeover of healthcare. “If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it,” Obama said. That was a lie. Now President Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) want to expand that lie through their $3.5 trillion federal spending blowout pending in Congress. 

Obama also said we could keep our doctors under ObamaCare. Obama lied to me and millions of other people. When I left a full-time job in 2013 for contract work, I switched to an ObamaCare exchange plan. And no, I didn’t get to keep my doctor on that new plan. I also saw the cost of my ObamaCare plan increase by double digit rates for 2014.

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Ohio Health Care Group Fears Vaccine Mandate Could Be Devastating

President Joe Biden’s plan to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for nursing home employees could damage further an industry struggling in Ohio, the executive director of the Ohio Health Care Association said.

Pete Van Runkle said the group is pro-vaccine but a federal mandate negatively could affect services to some of the most needy people in the state and be damaging to skilled nursing facilities.

“We believe the Biden Administration’s plan, at least articulated in the press conference, would be devastating to Ohio SNFs and to their staff and residents,” Van Runkle said. “While we support vaccination and recognize that it is the most effective defense against COVID-19, the proposed mandate does not account for staffing that is already stretched beyond the breaking point.”

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Tennessee Special Sessions Cost More Than $30K Per Day

If Gov. Bill Lee calls for a special session of the Tennessee Legislature, it will cost state taxpayers more than $30,000 per day.

Each day the House and Senate meet costs $30,750 in per diem for lawmakers, while each round trip for all lawmakers costs taxpayers $15,474 in mileage, according to Connie Ridley, the director of Tennessee’s Office of Legislative Administration.

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Commentary: Instead of Tightening Government’s Grip on Healthcare, Give Americans a Personal Option

Healthcare workers

As America begins to put the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview, the lesson from this once-in-a-generation crisis couldn’t be clearer: We need less, not more, central planning in our lives.

For example, a study earlier this year by health economist Casey Mulligan revealed that economic lockdowns mandated by government were counterproductive, given the significant steps workplaces took to prevent the virus from spreading.

The same is true with health care. By now, most folks know the story of how Operation Warp Speed — the previous administration’s unprecedented plan to trim bureaucracy from the vaccine development process — resulted in the creation of multiple safe and effective vaccines in record time. But an equally important storyline is how states took a sledgehammer to their own bureaucracies to expand access to care for those in need.

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Florida Medicaid Enrollment Tops 4.8 Million, Surpassing Forecasted Growth

Florida State Capitol

Florida’s Medicaid enrollment increased by 1% in June with 48,468 low-income residents qualifying for subsidized health care, according to the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).

As of June 30, there were 4,846,412 low-income, elderly and disabled Floridians enrolled in Medicaid, an increase of more than 730,000 since June 2020, AHCA documents in its June enrollment report.

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Dr. Manny Sethi Resumes Role at Healthcare Non-Profit

Dr. Manny Sethi, after taking time off to focus on his campaign for U.S. Senate, will resume his role as President and CEO of Healthy Tennessee, the non-profit he started with his wife Maya. 

The non-profit’s goal is to combat growing healthcare challenges facing Tennesseans across the state. To complete its goal, Healthy Tennessee offers free services to encourage preventative health measures. Since its founding, it has provided free health fairs, educational opportunities, and symposiums to thousands of Tennesseans in dozens of locations over the last decade

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DeSantis Seeks Approval of Importation of Canadian Prescription Drugs

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is asking the Biden administration to approve a plan that would allow for the importation of FDA-approved Canadian drugs to the Sunshine State, which would lower costs, according to the governor. 

“Today, Governor Ron DeSantis called on the Biden Administration and leadership at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to approve Florida’s Section 804 Importation Proposal (SIP) for Florida’s Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program,” a Friday press release said

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‘I Still Felt Incomplete’: Detransitioned Men, Women Describe How Frighteningly Easy it Was to Get Trans Surgeries, Hormones

Doctors room with surgeons

Multiple men and women who have detransitioned described how easy it was for them to get transgender surgeries and hormones in a new CBS segment — and how the surgeries or treatment negatively impacted them.

As lawmakers across the country introduce and pass bills focused on gender transitions, Lesley Stahl interviewed multiple medical experts and former or current transgender people who expressed fear that transgender surgeries and hormone treatments, often irreversible, are too easily attainable.

The CBS host said that the program “interviewed more than 30 detransitioners, who say they also had experienced regret, including these four, who hadn’t met before now.”

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Tennessee Becomes Second State to Ban Trans Hormone Treatments Before Puberty

child running with trans flag

Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation Tuesday that bans hormone treatment for prepubescent minors.

SB0126 goes into effect immediately, making Tennessee the second state to ban trans procedures for minors, NBC reported. The Arkansas state legislature overrode Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s veto of a bill banning transgender surgeries and procedures for minors in April.

Arkansas’ “Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act,” otherwise known as the SAFE Act, prohibits physicians from performing gender transition procedures, such as puberty blockers or “top” and “bottom” surgeries, on minors before puberty. Transgender surgeries include vaginoplasty, phalloplasty, breast implants, and facial surgeries.

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Healthcare Industry Exempt from Vaccine Passport Ban

On May 3, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 2006 into law banning vaccine passports in Florida, with the lone exception being health care providers and facilities within the healthcare industry.  

DeSantis has been critical of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines (CDC) and vaccine passports being endorsed by states and governors across the country. He has said, long before he signed the legislation, vaccine passports being required for citizens to participate in society will not happen in Florida.

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Biden Administration Facing Media Scrutiny for Not Allowing Press Access to Child Migrant Detention Facilities

Reporters in the White House Press Briefing Room expressed frustration on Wednesday with the Biden Administration for failing to provide proper information or press access regarding the increasingly overflowing migrant detention facilities on the southern border, as reported by Breitbart.

One reporter grilled White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on this issue, asking “It’s now been three weeks since….you were first asked about getting us some press access” to these facilities, which have been filling up with child migrants in particular. “Why have we still not seen any images inside these facilities?”

Psaki dodged the question, and instead tried to claim that Biden himself is receiving such information in briefings, saying that “he talks to plenty of officials.” Psaki also continued blaming other factors for the lack of information, including various restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the privacy of children who occupy these facilities.

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Teachers Union Boss who Fought to Keep Schools Closed Caught Dropping Kid off at in-Person Preschool

Remember the Chicago teachers union bigwig who defended school closures while wearing a bathing suit in Baja? We’ve got another one.

In Northern California, the same guy who has been claiming schools are too unsafe to reopen apparently doesn’t practice what he preaches.

A video posted by a Twitter account called “guerillaMomz” shows the president of the Berkeley teachers union dropping his daughter off at in-person preschool.

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Commentary: Vice President Biden, Don’t Take Away Our Healthcare Choice

President Donald Trump recently painted a picture for the American people of what healthcare reform would look if given a second term in office. 

Trump made a passionate argument for a framework anchored in choice and transparency, elements that stand in stark contrast to Obamacare—which used the power of the federal government to force people to purchase something simply for being alive: government-sanctioned health insurance.   

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Healthcare Activist Says Patients Aren’t Being Allowed Crucial Visitors

A nurse turned medical activist is accusing an Ohio Healthcare Provider of refusing to help her husband after she complained about the Hospital’s visitor policies.

Michelle Estel, says that she received a letter from Fairfield Medical Center (FMC), where her husband was receiving chemotherapy for his lymphoma stating that the hospital could no longer provide care to him since the relationship between he and the hospital was “no longer effective.” 

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, Sen. Bernie Sanders Push Bill Taxing Billionaires 60 Percent to Fund One Year of Healthcare for All

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) and Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) introduced a bill Friday to tax billionaires sixty percent of their pandemic-earned assets. The proposed bill, “Make Billionaires Pay Act,” would use the tax money to cover individual healthcare expenses for one year.

In a tweeted video, Sanders argued billionaires have profited off the coronavirus pandemic while the rest of the country has suffered.

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Former Nashville Healthcare Executive Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $700,000

The former president of Nashville-based Omnis Health pleaded guilty last week to embezzling $763,887 from the company and evading taxes.

U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee said 50-year-old Robert Burton was charged in February with wire fraud and tax evasion related to his embezzlement scheme. Burton was the president of Omnis Health, which sells diabetic testing kits, from July 2013 to May 2017.

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Commentary: Billionaire Know-It-Alls Side with Insurance Companies on Surprise Medical Billing

You may have never heard of them, but there is a new, young billionaire couple determined to leave their mark on society. John and Laura Arnold are not interested in the type of philanthropy that builds libraries and college buildings or feeds, clothes, shelters, and educates the poor. No, like George Soros, the Arnolds are on a mission to “change the country,” whether we like it or not. When these arrogant elitists are not busy trying to erode our gun rights, promoting abortion, funding spying on citizens, or trying to upend our electoral system, they are busy trying to cut medical professionals pay. Specifically, the liberal power couple wants to address the issue of surprise medical billing by reducing the amount of money that medical professionals are paid for providing out-of-network care to patients.

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Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump’s Health Care Rule For Immigrants

A federal judge has, at least temporarily, blocked the Trump administration from implementing a rule that would require immigrants prove that they have health insurance or can afford to pay for it.

Judge Michael Simon of the federal district court in Portland, Oregon, issued a nationwide temporary restraining order Saturday, barring President Donald Trump from implementing his health care requirement for foreign nationals applying for legal permanent status.

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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Describes the Conditions of Spring Hill Strike After General Motors CEO Abruptly Cuts Off Employees Healthcare Without Notice

On Thursday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy welcomed Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles to the show to speak on the recent UAW strike at General Motors in Spring Hill, Tennessee. GM CEO, Mary Barra abruptly cut healthcare benefits to their employees sparking an emotional demonstration that required local law enforcement to make arrests.

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Commentary: Congress Must Pass a True Conservative Solution for Surprise Billing

Congress is poised to address surprise medical billing, an issue that has hurt too many patients in Tennessee and throughout the nation—that is, if they can muster the fortitude to pass a commonsense proposal that upholds the free market ideals conservatives should embrace. However, some of the so-called solutions that have been put forward betray these values and would result in greater government interference into our health care system, which is the last thing we need.

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Poll: 59% of Americans Oppose Government-Provided Health Insurance for Illegal Migrants

by Chuck Ross   Nearly 60% of Americans oppose making government-provided health insurance available to illegal immigrants, according to a CNN poll released Monday. “Do you think health insurance coverage provided by the government should or should not be available to undocumented immigrants living in the United States?” reads a question in the poll, which was conducted by the polling firm SRSS on behalf of CNN between June 28 and June 30. Of the 1,613 respondents, 59% said they oppose making government health insurance programs available to illegal immigrants. Thirty-eight percent supported it, while 3% expressed no opinion. The question matches one asked in Thursday’s Democratic presidential debate. All 10 Democrats raised their hands when asked whether they support making government-directed health insurance available to illegal immigrants. “A lot of you have been talking about government health care plans you proposed in one form or another. This is a show of hands question and hold them up so people can see. Raise your hand if your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants,” debate moderator Savannah Guthrie said. Candidates like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would include illegal immigrants in a Medicare for All plan, which would replace private health insurance with a single-payer…

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California Set To Give Full Health Care Benefits To Low Income Illegal Immigrants

by Molly Prince   California lawmakers released a final draft of the state’s 2020 budget late Sunday evening that would expand health care to illegal immigrants and cost taxpayers nearly $100 million per year. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom reached an agreement with Democrats in the state legislature to become the first state in the nation to provide full health care benefits to tens of thousands of illegal immigrants. As part of a larger $213 billion budget, low-income illegal immigrants under the age of 26 will be eligible for California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, reported The Sacramento Bee. Under the agreement, approximately 90,000 new individuals would qualify with an estimate price tag of $98 million annually. California will begin taxing residents who don’t have health insurance in order to help ease the program’s financial burden, creating an individual-mandate penalty. Initially implemented under the Obama administration to help pay for the federal Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as Obamacare, Republicans rolled back the federal individual-mandate penalty in 2017. California Democrats contend that an individual mandate fine will prevent premiums from skyrocketing. “The budget agreement we’re finalizing tonight builds on the strong budget proposal of the governor, while adding significant legislative priorities,” said Democratic state…

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Rep. Green Introduces Bill to Give Rural Hospitals More Flexibility

  U.S. Reps. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS-02) on Thursday introduced a new bipartisan bill to boost rural hospitals, Green said in a press release. The Rural Health Care Access Act of 2019 would repeal what Green called an arcane rule – “the 35-mile rule” – that bars hospitals from pursuing a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) designation. Currently, a rural hospital must be at least 35 miles away from another hospital to receive the CAH designation. If passed into law, this bill would allow states to designate a facility as a CAH if it meets all the other requirements. Those requirements include: The hospital must have 25 or fewer acute care inpatient beds. Must provide 24/7 emergency care services. The average length of stay for acute care patients must be 96 hours or less. “Folks living outside cities must not be left without health care access,” Green said. “We need to act now to remove old, onerous federal regulations and update our laws so that rural communities get the care they need.” Thompson said, “Rural hospitals are an integral part of the rural healthcare system. We must make sure rural communities have the same access to health…

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States, Cities Sue to Block Health Care ‘Conscience’ Rule

  A coalition of 23 U.S. states and municipalities sued the Trump administration Tuesday to stop it from enforcing a rule that would make it easier for doctors and nurses to avoid performing abortions on religious or moral grounds. The lawsuit led by New York Attorney General Letitia James said the expanded “conscience” protections could undermine the ability of states and cities to provide effective health care without jeopardizing billions of dollars a year in federal aid. It also said the rule would upset legislative efforts to accommodate workers’ beliefs while ensuring that hospitals, other businesses and staff treat patients effectively. Sterilizations and assisted suicide are among other medical procedures that might be affected, according to the complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan. “The federal government is giving health care providers free license to openly discriminate and refuse care to patients,” James said in a statement. The rule is scheduled to take effect July 22. It will be enforced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “The rule gives life and enforcement tools to conscience protection laws that have been on the books for decades. HHS finalized the conscience rule after more than a year of careful…

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Poll: Most Americans Don’t Want Medicare for All Once They Understand Costs

by Bethany Blankley   Most Americans oppose a Medicare for All program once they understand what it means and how much it would cost, a Health Tracking poll conducted by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) reveals. The poll found that a majority of people – 56 percent – favor a Medicare for All (M4A) single-payer healthcare system when no details about how much it would cost are provided. A larger majority, 77 percent, expressed support for incremental changes to the health care system like allowing for the option of a Medicare buy-in program for adults between ages 50 and 64. Slightly less, 75 percent, support Medicaid buy-in plans for individuals who don’t have health coverage through their employer. Both the Medicare and Medicaid buy-in plans received 69 and 64 percent support from Republicans, respectively. These numbers drop dramatically when respondents are given information on what implementing M4A would cost. When asked if support for M4A included the requirement to eliminate all private health insurance and increase taxes, only 37 percent of respondents supported it. When asked if implementing M4A would directly cause some medical treatments and tests to be delayed, only 26 percent approved. The greatest criticism of…

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Arizona’s Rep. Andy Biggs Drops Bill to End Tax Deduction for Abortions

by Rachel del Guidice   An Arizona congressman plans to introduce a bill Wednesday that would end a tax deduction for abortions. “For years, the pro-abortion movement has marketed abortion as a form of reproductive health care,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said in a statement provided to The Daily Signal. “But it’s time for us to be honest with ourselves – health care is primarily a restorative function, one that helps our bodies heal from a disease or ailment. Under no circumstances should health care include the intentional taking of a life. The ‘Abortion Is Not Health Care Act’ is a small step towards ending the federal government’s treatment of abortion as a ‘healing medical practice,’” he added. The legislation, according to Biggs’ office, would not allow taxpayers to count abortion costs toward tax-deductible medical expenses under the federal tax code. According to IRS.gov, taxpayers may deduct medical expenses if they exceed 7.5% of their adjusted gross income. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] “One of the fundamental duties of the federal government is to protect the life of all citizens, beginning at conception. Despite…

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