Free Republic

The Trump administration on Friday formally rolled back an Obama-era policy that protected LGBTQ patients from discrimination and required robust language translation services, unnerving health experts who worry vulnerable populations will face further risks during the Covid-19 pandemic.... The new Trump administration rules reverse an Obama policy that banned health care providers from discriminating against transgender patients and women seeking abortions. The Obama administration had issued the first-time protections for LGBTQ patients under a nondiscrimination clause in the Affordable Care Act, citing concerns from advocates these patients had a harder time accessing necessary care.... The new rules "will eliminate mass...

A federal judge in Oregon blocked the Trump administration Saturday afternoon from enacting a policy that would require new immigrants to demonstrate they have health care or are able to afford it. According to Wall Street Journal, the order, handed down by U.S. District Judge Michael Simon, prohibits the policy from taking effect for 28 days. The next hearing is set for Nov. 22. The policy, which would have taken effect Monday, was introduced last month and primarily affects people attempting to immigrate to the U.S. to join family members. The White House has described the policy as a healthcare...

n a new interview, Serena Williams spoke about how her pregnancy complications made her more cognizant of the problems black women encounter within the U.S. health care system. Speaking to BBC, the tennis superstar said it "may be time for women to be comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations," as "doctors aren't listening to us." Pointing out that she was "in a really fortunate situation," since she had a "wonderful, wonderful doctor" and knows her body so well, Williams lamented the fact that most black people aren't in the same position. As previously detailed, Williams, who has a history of blood...

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) spent much of his time at a confirmation hearing for President Trump’s Health and Human Services nominee Alex Azar lecturing the nominee and the Trump administration on issues pertaining to “women’s health.” The senator has been accused of multiple instances of sexual harassment in recent weeks.

I am hearing a lot of misinformation about the healthcare roll out. I think the left would love to get conservatives fighting among themselves. For that reason I think we should all listen to why Ryan is proceeding the way he is and decide if it makes sense. Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGiVoU2KnqU

President Obama joined the chorus of Democrats calling for the creation of a government run health insurance program as Obamacare is facing growing problems. In an article published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the president called for Congress to revisit the "public option" for Obamacare in areas where few insurers offer coverage. "Some parts of the country have struggled with limited insurance market competition for many years, which is one reason that, in the original debate over health reform, Congress considered and I supported including a Medicare-like public plan," Obama wrote in the piece. A public...

Vermont on Thursday became the third state to add an extra ObamaCare sign-up period through the end of tax season, adding pressure on federal health officials to take the same approach. While the official ObamaCare deadline passed on Sunday, about a quarter of all state exchanges have added a grace period to accommodate the millions of uninsured people who will be forced to pay a penalty for the first time this tax season. "It would be awful for a Vermont family to have to pay a fee of several hundred dollars or more, and then have to pay 100 percent...

On a recent afternoon at his office in Hartford, Conn., Dr. Doug Gerard examines a patient complaining of joint pain. Gerard, an internist, checks her out, asks her a few questions about her symptoms and then orders a few tests before sending her on her way. For a typical quick visit like this, Gerard could get reimbursed $100 or more from a private insurer. For the same visit, Medicare pays less — about $80. And now, with the new private plans under the Affordable Care Act, Gerard says he would get something in between, but closer to the lower Medicare...

Washington (CNN) – Support for the country's new health care law has dropped to a record low, according to a new national poll. And a CNN/ORC International survey released Monday also indicates that most Americans predict that the Affordable Care Act will actually result in higher prices for their own medical care. Only 35% of those questioned in the poll say they support the health care law, a 5-point drop in less than a month. Sixty-two percent say they oppose the law, up four points from November.

Another day on the ACA (Animal) Farm (Plantation) The Affordable Care Act will automatically force people on Medicaid when they qualify. Affordable Care Act drops the asset test to qualify for Medicaid. Another side effect of the ACA private insurance is too expensive for the average American to afford. Where a lot of private insurance companies are dropping people now or increasing their rates due to the requirements of the ACA. If you are not effected yet, you will be in the next year or two. Sum it up, if you own a house, but qualify for subsidized health insurance...

Health plans are sending hundreds of thousands of cancellation letters to people who buy their own coverage, frustrating some consumers who want to keep what they have and forcing others to buy more costly policies. The main reason insurers offer is that the policies fall short of what the Affordable Care Act requires starting Jan. 1. Most are ending policies sold after the law passed in March 2010. At least a few are canceling plans sold to people with pre-existing medical conditions. By all accounts, the new policies will offer consumers better coverage, in some cases, for comparable cost --...

Andy Mitchell, medical director for National Health Service (NHS) England in London said, “At times, throughout the week, even throughout the day, services aren’t safe”. Mitchell’s admission comes after the NHS Confederation said the service will soon be “unsustainable” if radical reforms are not presented before the next general election. The top health officials said the NHS is currently facing "the most challenging period in its 65-year existence,” and that the service might not be able to provide free health care for all patients any more. “Demand continues to rise, drugs cost more, and NHS inflation is higher than general...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's long-anticipated launch Tuesday of new insurance exchanges to provide health care to millions of uninsured Americans is coming under the cloud of a government shutdown that began the same day.

tate Employer Action Jobs with fewer hours, if specified Date of Action or Report Alabama Houston County Public Cut hours of part-time employees to fewer than 30 per week Sep-13 California Biola University Private Cut student work hours to a maximum of 25 per week; suspended limit due to employer mandate delay Sep-13 Florida Bealls Inc. (Department Stores) Private Restricted part-time hours to fewer than 30 per week Sep-13 Florida SeaWorld Entertainment Private Cut hours for part-time workers from a maximum of 32 to 28 per week Sep-13

Protesters claim Northwestern Memorial Hospital refuses organ transplants to undocumented immigrants. August 11, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Dozens of people march to Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Sunday, claiming they refuse to add undocumented immigrants to organ transplant lists.

It is painful to witness the expenditure of so much negative energy among people who all say they oppose the law. This law is so bad and so unpopular and its negative consequences so apparent that we would have to be complete incompetents not to be able to make this case to the American people, the majority of whom already agree. Why not rip a page right out of President Obama's political playbook and go directly to the people? It obviously works for Obama, even though he doesn't have the facts or history on his side; there has never been...

As an illegal immigrant, Jorge Mariscal waited eight years for a kidney transplant he feared would never come. His persistence paid off Thursday when he underwent the procedure at Loyola University Medical Center. After years of uncertainties, Mariscal said he's excited about his future and grateful for the help he received. But he remains frustrated with a health care system that he worries might leave out an untold number of illegal immigrants in need of lifesaving treatments. "Why can't we be treated the same?" he asked while sitting in his hospital room. "Health care should be a human right, not...

Barack Obama and his campaign hoped to make ObamaCare their pitch to get younger voters more enthused about the election this year --- a perverse but not forlorn hope, as I'll explain in a minute. That may be even more true in North Carolina, where Democrats are holding their convention this week, and where Obama needs to generate the visible and noticeable excitement among college-age voters that was so apparent in 2008 and has been lacking in 2012. Peter Hamby at CNN reports why that may be a bigger problem for North Carolina college students in particular, as the costs...

CALEXICO, Calif. — The calls come in thick and fast from the border, just blocks from the fire station here. A woman suffered heatstroke in line at the port of entry. A person detained by customs officers complained of chest pain. An illegal immigrant broke his leg trying to hop the 20-foot wall that divides Calexico from its Mexican twin city, Mexicali. In each case, the Calexico Fire Department responded. All along the Southwest border, from San Diego to Brownsville, Tex., local fire departments respond to medical calls as they would to any emergencies within their city limits. But such...

Mitt Romney seems to be laboring under the impression that whatever he says in a foreign country will—like a weekend in Las Vegas—somehow stay in that foreign country. Either that or he figures nobody back home is paying any attention. Speaking today to a small group of Israeli contributors to his campaign, the GOP presidential candidate—and supposed sworn enemy of government controlled healthcare—had kind words for the success of Israel’s healthcare system. "When our health care costs are completely out of control. Do you realize what health care spending is as a percentage of the GDP in Israel? 8 percent....