Democrats received some unexpectedly giant victories in Tuesday’s off-off-year elections, placing well being care squarely again on the political map. Meanwhile, enrollment was unexpectedly excessive within the insurance coverage exchanges’ opening days, in response to the Department of Health and Human Services.
In this episode of “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Sarah Kliff of Vox.com, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo talk about the potential political influence of Tuesday’s voting, together with the success in Maine of a referendum to increase the Medicaid program, in addition to the most recent information from Washington, D.C.
Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:
— Voters in exit polls cited well being care as a serious voting subject — and in Virginia the overwhelming majority of those that mentioned well being care was a prime subject voted for the Democrat. But some Republicans proceed to insist that voters are indignant that they didn’t repeal the Affordable Care Act and are doubling down on efforts to make that occur earlier than the congressional midterm elections in 2018.
— Tuesday’s ends in the Maine Medicaid referendum would possibly immediate voters in different states which have but to increase this system to attempt the direct-ballot route. But Maine’s governor has mentioned he’ll proceed to attempt to block implementation, which may result in lawsuits.
— Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act, open enrollment for 2018 has seen a spike in sign-ups within the first few days. Some recommend one motive is that many individuals who qualify for tax credit are getting an sudden windfall this 12 months due to the way in which states have addressed federal cuts in subsidies for low-income enrollees. People who earn simply over the cutoff for federal assist, nonetheless, are going through steadily unaffordable charges.
— Federal Medicaid chief Seema Verma this week advised the Trump administration will likely be approving state requests to require Medicaid recipients to work or carry out neighborhood service in change for his or her advantages. Work necessities can be a serious change for this system, and one a number of states are searching for.
Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favourite well being tales of the week they suppose you need to learn, too.
Julie Rovner: Kaiser Health News and Climate Central, “Breathing Fire: Health Is A Casualty Of Climate-Fueled Blazes,” by John Upton and Barbara Feder Ostrov.
Sarah Kliff: Kaiser Health News, “Liquid Gold: Pain Doctors Soak Up Profits By Screening Urine For Drugs,” by Fred Schulte and Elizabeth Lucas.
Joanne Kenen: The New Yorker, “Faces of an epidemic,” by Philip Montgomery and Margaret Talbot.
Alice Ollstein: Reuters, “Exclusive: FBI agents raid headquarters of major U.S. body broker,” by John Shiffman and Brian Grow.
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Medicaid, Multimedia, The Health Law
