March 2017
American Health Care Act of 2017 Proposed as Affordable Care Act Replacement
Update: As of March 24th, the AHCA has been officially pulled by Speaker Ryan and President Trump.
Early this month, Speaker Paul Ryan announced the American Health Care Act (AHCA) as a replacement for the current ACA. Though touted as “Obamacare 2.0”, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 24 million Americans would lose coverage. Additionally, the new legislation would halt enrollment in Medicaid expansion by 2020, and create an per capita cap for recipients. The ACHA would provide tax credits based on age to individuals who purchase insurance and penalize individuals who do not have continuous coverage. Though the AHCA does retain some popular features of the ACA, such as the ability to stay on your parents insurance until age 26 and protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions, this bill is far from being an improved healthcare bill. It is estimated that premiums would double for many Americans, especially older Americans.
Learn more about the bill and CBO analysis here.
Call your legislators today and thank them for opposing the AHCA!
Update: As of March 24th, the AHCA has been officially pulled by Speaker Ryan and President Trump.
Early this month, Speaker Paul Ryan announced the American Health Care Act (AHCA) as a replacement for the current ACA. Though touted as “Obamacare 2.0”, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 24 million Americans would lose coverage. Additionally, the new legislation would halt enrollment in Medicaid expansion by 2020, and create an per capita cap for recipients. The ACHA would provide tax credits based on age to individuals who purchase insurance and penalize individuals who do not have continuous coverage. Though the AHCA does retain some popular features of the ACA, such as the ability to stay on your parents insurance until age 26 and protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions, this bill is far from being an improved healthcare bill. It is estimated that premiums would double for many Americans, especially older Americans.
Learn more about the bill and CBO analysis here.
Call your legislators today and thank them for opposing the AHCA!
Trump Budget Proposal Puts the Public’s Health at Risk
President Trump released his much anticipated budget proposal on March 16th. The proposal calls for a significant increase in military spending to be funded largely by cuts to major agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency and many important health and welfare programs are slated to either lose significant amounts of funding or be defunded all together. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services, which houses the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health among other public health related agencies would also lose significant funds. While the current Administration considers these cuts “compassionate”, they would greatly endanger public health and threaten services that act to provide services during disease outbreaks and natural disasters.
As this is a proposal, it is important to call your legislators and tell them how much you value these vital services today!
President Trump released his much anticipated budget proposal on March 16th. The proposal calls for a significant increase in military spending to be funded largely by cuts to major agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency and many important health and welfare programs are slated to either lose significant amounts of funding or be defunded all together. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services, which houses the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health among other public health related agencies would also lose significant funds. While the current Administration considers these cuts “compassionate”, they would greatly endanger public health and threaten services that act to provide services during disease outbreaks and natural disasters.
As this is a proposal, it is important to call your legislators and tell them how much you value these vital services today!
Obama Era Protections From Drug Testing Welfare Recipients Overturned
Congress has passed House Joint Resolution 42 with a simple majority using the Congressional Review Act. This resolution overturns the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation act which mandated drug testing could only be done for unemployment recipients if they had been fired from a job due to drug use or testing was required for employment. The bill was originally passed in 2012 but was strengthened in 2016. Drug testing for welfare recipients harms public health indirectly by acting to further discourage and stigmatize individuals who may need to apply for unemployment, SNAP, WIC, or Medicaid.
Congress has passed House Joint Resolution 42 with a simple majority using the Congressional Review Act. This resolution overturns the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation act which mandated drug testing could only be done for unemployment recipients if they had been fired from a job due to drug use or testing was required for employment. The bill was originally passed in 2012 but was strengthened in 2016. Drug testing for welfare recipients harms public health indirectly by acting to further discourage and stigmatize individuals who may need to apply for unemployment, SNAP, WIC, or Medicaid.