U.S. Rep. Dr. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) on Tuesday introduced a bill to give Medicaid recipients more choice and power in their healthcare decisions. The Medicaid Improvement and State Flexibility Act would authorize states to begin pilot programs giving Medicaid recipients a “swipe card” with dollars on it designated…
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Top House Republican Breaks From Trump Administration on Latest Obamacare Move: Report
by Evie Fordham House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is not behind the Trump administration’s latest move to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a report from Axios. President Donald Trump’s Justice Department concurred Monday with a federal judge’s determination that the framework of the ACA, also known…
Read MoreNorth Carolina Treasurer Warns of Health Plan Insolvency, Has Plans for Reform
A December 2018 report by S&P Global suggests that the North Carolina state health plan will be in real jeopardy of insolvency by 2023 due to unfunded liabilities and rising medical and pharmaceutical costs. “North Carolina’s other post-employment benefit (OPEB) liabilities as a combined funded ratio, are less than five…
Read MoreNorth Carolina Treasurer Warns of Health Plan Insolvency, Has Plans for Reform
A December 2018 report by S&P Global suggests that the North Carolina state health plan will be in real jeopardy of insolvency by 2023 due to unfunded liabilities and rising medical and pharmaceutical costs. “North Carolina’s other post-employment benefit (OPEB) liabilities as a combined funded ratio, are less than five…
Read MoreStates Have a New Opportunity to Lower Health Insurance Premiums and Expand Options
by Mary Fishpaw The Trump administration is offering welcome relief to Americans struggling with high premiums under Obamacare premiums and a lack of insurance choices. The administration has taken a series of regulatory actions to do the following: Make short-term, limited duration policies widely available and give consumers the…
Read MoreCommentary: Tennessee’s ObamaCare Fiasco Shows the Perils of Short Term Plans
By Peter Moorman On August 1, the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury released a final ruling on the expanded use of STLDI plans (Short Term, Limited Duration Insurance). Prior to this ruling, short-term insurance plans lasted a maximum of three months before individuals had…
Read MorePresident Trump Faces Institutional Obstacles to Overcome U.S. Drug Pricing Fiasco
President Trump is scheduled to deliver his first speech Friday to introduce an overarching plan to confront high drug prices. As a candidate, where he railed against the pharmaceutical industry and accused it of “getting away with murder.” The populist rhetoric appears to be giving way to a more nuanced strategy focused…
Read MoreReport: Obamacare Made Insurance Companies Stock Prices Soar ‘272 Percent’
Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion program and subsidies have made major health insurance companies extremely profitable, according to a White House economic report released Wednesday morning. The White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) report that insurers’ financial health, a measure the group says is reflected in their stock prices, improved markedly…
Read MoreLindsey Graham, South Carolina Senator: We’ll Get the Votes for Obamacare Repeal Bill
Sen. Lindsey Graham says he thinks the votes will be there to pass Obamacare repeal legislation he’s introduced with Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, saying they’re trying to devolve money and power out of Washington and return it to the states. “I think we’re going to get the votes,” the…
Read MoreCommentary: Four Steps President Trump Can Take to Quicken Obamacare Implosion
With the wee-hours even a modest partial repeal of Obamacare in the Senate, the ball now moves to the executive branch. President Donald Trump’s administration has considerable power to improve the health care system within the confines of the Affordable Care Act — or make mischief and hasten its demise.…
Read MoreLetter to the Editor: With Obamacare, There Is Nothing Left to Repair
Dear Tennessee Star, There are a lot of people calling, writing and visiting our two Senators, urging them to vote against the American Health Care Act and instead, repair the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). I have news for these folks: There is nothing left to repair. I know…
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