Affordable Care Act

Republican lawmaker Allen Christensen is pushing a bill in the Utah Senate that would shrink the Medicaid expansion his state's voters approved. "They are not obligated to balance the budget," he argues. "We are."

Utah Voters Approved Medicaid Expansion, But State Lawmakers Are Balking

7:07pm February 08, 2019

by Erik Neumann

Political fights over health care continue to flare. In Utah, angry voters say lawmakers are disregarding their wishes by trying to limit the scope of a ballot referendum that expanded Medicaid.

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Rep. John Dingell was seated next to President Barack Obama when he signed the Affordable Care Act into law at the White House on March 23, 2010.

Former Rep. John Dingell Left An Enduring Health Care Legacy

2:04pm February 08, 2019

by Julie Rovner

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Rep. John Dingell was instrumental in expanding the Medicaid program, reshaping Medicare and modernizing the Food and Drug Administration. He died Thursday night.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., at an Oakland, Calif., campaign rally this week. Harris says she backs a single-payer health system, but she hasn't yet offered details on how she would finance that plan.

Several Democrats Eyeing A Presidential Run Embrace 'Medicare-For-All'

4:35pm January 30, 2019

by Alison Kodjak

The idea, they say, would be to eliminate the health insurance industry and replace it with government-run health insurance. The industry is already gearing up to oppose any moves in that direction.

Demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in 2014 react to hearing the court's decision on the Hobby Lobby birth control case.

Second Judge Blocks Trump Birth Control Policy Across The Country

5:53pm January 14, 2019

by Matthew S. Schwartz

Monday's ruling follows a more limited one by another judge on Sunday. The policy makes good on Trump's promise to peel back the requirement that employers offer contraception coverage at no cost.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a speech Thursday to the new Congress that Democrats want "to lower health care costs and prescription drug prices and protect people with pre-existing medical conditions."

Democrats' Health Care Ambitions Meet The Reality Of Divided Government

5:03pm January 09, 2019

by Alison Kodjak

Congressional Democrats want to protect health coverage and protections of the Affordable Care Act. With the Senate in Republican hands, House Democrats will hold hearings and may turn to the courts.

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Though his politics are right of center and he lobbied hard against the Affordable Care Act, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch also has been key to passing several landmark health laws with bipartisan support.

How Sen. Orrin Hatch Shaped America's Health Care In Controversial Ways

12:35pm December 31, 2018

by Erik Neumann

Republican Orrin Hatch is leaving the Senate after 42 years. He led bipartisan efforts to get health care for more kids and AIDS patients. He also thrived on donations from the drug industry.

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Philadelphia demonstrators protested earlier moves by Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act last February. If the ACA is indeed axed as unconstitutional, health policy analysts say, millions of people could lose health coverage, and many aspects o

5 Ways Nixing The Affordable Care Act Could Upend U.S. Health System

5:39pm December 20, 2018

by Julie Rovner

If the decision of a judge in Texas to invalidate the federal health law holds up, expect broad effects on your health care — from insurance coverage to Medicare payments to pre-existing conditions.

In 2015, demonstrators in Washington, D.C., urged Supreme Court justices to save the Affordable Care Act from a legal challenge. The federal health law survived, but last week U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor ruled it invalid. An appeal of his controvers

Judge Who Invalidated Obamacare Has Been A 'Go-To Judge' For Republicans, Critics Say

8:11am December 20, 2018

by Ashley Lopez

Court watchers weren't shocked when Reed O'Connor, a U.S. district judge in Texas, ruled the Affordable Care Act invalid. Critics say he usually sides with Republicans on ideological cases.

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The government has had to reassure Americans that the Friday ruling does not affect this year's open enrollment, including through HealthCare.gov, which ends Saturday.

Politics & Government

As Judge Rules Obamacare Unconstitutional, Democrats Seethe, Republicans Stay Mum

4:56pm December 15, 2018

by Ian Stewart

The decision came on the eve of the final day of open enrollment for 2019 health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Ruling Backs States Opposed To Obamacare; White House Expects Appeal

8:01am December 15, 2018

by Alison Kodjak

A Texas judge on Friday said that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional — a ruling likely to be appealed and to make its way up to the Supreme Court.