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House GOP Plan Would Cut Medicare, Medicaid to Balance Budget
House Republicans released a proposal Tuesday that would balance the budget in nine years — but only by making large cuts to entitlement programs, including Medicare, that President Trump vowed not to touch. The House Budget Committee is aiming to pass…
Michigan Governor Signs Controversial Medicaid Work Requirement Bill
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) on Friday signed a bill to impose controversial work requirements on Medicaid recipients. If the plan is approved by the Trump administration, Michigan would become the fifth state to add work mandates to its program. (Pet…
Amazon, Buffett, JPMorgan Pick Gawande to Lead Health Firm
Three corporate giants seeking to attack rising health care costs have turned to a Harvard professor who has written books about the system’s many flaws. Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway have named Dr. Atul Gawande CEO of a venture the co…
Trump Administration Expands Use of Health Plans That Skirt ACA Consumer Protections
The Trump administration issued new rules on Tuesday that may lead to small businesses and self-employed people being offered health insurance that costs less because it includes fewer benefits and consumer protections, bypassing significant requiremen…
Trump’s Plan to Lower Drug Prices Tests Limits of the Law
In his effort to bring down prescription drug prices, President Trump is testing the limits of a law that prohibits the government from interfering in negotiations between drug manufacturers and insurance companies that provide drug coverage to more th…
Government Reorganization Plan Embraces Conservative Goals for the Safety Net
The White House’s goal of consolidating federal safety-net programs in a revamped and renamed health department would fulfill a long-held conservative goal that has the potential to reduce federal help for the neediest Americans. The Trump administrati…
Trump Administration Rule Could Stop Public Reporting of Hospital Infections Despite Death Toll
Federal health regulators will have to stop releasing data on hospital infections — which affect one in 25 hospital patients every day — under a proposal set to take effect in November, according to an analysis by patient safety advocates. The Centers …
NY, Mass. to Sue Over Trump Health Plans Skirting Obamacare Requirements
New York and Massachusetts will sue the Trump administration over its expansion of health insurance plans that don’t meet all of Obamacare’s requirements. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood (D) and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey …
Fraud Fears Rise as Feds Expand Access to Association Health Plans
Regulators and insurance experts worry the Trump administration’s new rule expanding association health plans for small businesses and self-employed people will lead to a spike in insurance fraud and insolvencies that plagued consumers and health care …
Number of Drug Makers Lobbying Congress on Pricing Issues Skyrockets
It’s no secret that the pharmaceutical industry has spent record-setting sums on lobbying in recent years. But much of that increase, according to a new report from a watchdog group here, is specific to the issue of drug pricing, which has taken hold a…
