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Even without Congress, Trump can still cut Medicaid enrollment

After the Senate fell short in their effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration is poised to use its regulatory powers to accomplish what lawmakers could not: Shrink Medicaid.

28 Jul 2017

When high deductibles hurt: Even insured patients postpone care

In November 2015, Tina Heck was in her garage lifting 40-pound bags of wood pellets to fuel her heating stove, when something went very wrong with her back.

28 Jul 2017

Leap of faith: Will health care ministries cover your costs?

Martin Estacio was shelling out $800 per month for a health plan that didn't fit his two-state lifestyle. The retired San Bernardino firefighter lives between Oklahoma and California. But his health insurance policy, purchased in Oklahoma, didn't cover non-emergency care outside the state.

28 Jul 2017

States have tried versions of ‘skinny repeal.’ It didn’t go well.

Betting that thin is in — and might be the only way forward — Senate Republicans are eyeing a "skinny repeal" that rolls back an unpopular portion of the federal health law. But experts warn that the idea has been tried before, and with little success.

27 Jul 2017

ACA helped reduce socioeconomic gaps in health care access, report shows

The Affordable Care Act has helped to close the gap in health care access between residents of poor and higher-income households, a new report by Boston University School of Public Health researchers shows.

27 Jul 2017

Medicaid proves a lifeline for clients of crisis pregnancy centers

When Taylor Merendo moved to Bloomington, Ind., nearly two years ago, fleeing an abusive marriage, she needed help.

27 Jul 2017

Rural Californians want price relief from GOP health bill, but unlikely to get it

Aaron Albaugh peered out from under the brim of his cowboy hat, surveying the acres of hayfields in front of him. The fourth-generation rancher has raised about 450 cattle this year, in this remote corner of Lassen County, Calif.

26 Jul 2017

Who knew Senate health bill debate could be so complicated?

So the Senate has voted to start debate on a bill to replace the Affordable Care Act. Now what? Well, it gets wonky.

25 Jul 2017

Over-the-counter devices hold their own against costly hearing aids

Hearing aids that can cost more than $2,000 apiece are only slightly more effective than some over-the-counter sound-amplification devices that sell for just a few hundred dollars, according to a recent study.

25 Jul 2017

Prototype app helps children with chronic diseases develop proper medication habits

As many as 19 million U.S. children suffer from at least one chronic medical condition such as ADD/ADHD, asthma, or depression. Building a habit of strict medication adherence from a young age is crucial for preventing lifelong negative health consequences.

24 Jul 2017

5 ways White House can use its muscle to undercut Obamacare

President Donald Trump has vowed to "let Obamacare fail," after legislative efforts to undo the Affordable Care Act have stalled.

24 Jul 2017

Study finds no convincing evidence to support link between PPI use and dementia risk

Several studies have reported associations between proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) use and dementia. New research published on July 18 in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association, puts these claims to rest.

20 Jul 2017

Depression among heart attack survivors can be deadly, yet is often ignored

Clyde Boyce has been hospitalized 14 times in the past four years. Boyce, 61, survived two strokes and five operations to unblock arteries around his heart, including three procedures in which doctors propped open his blood vessels with stents. He takes 18 pills a day and gets injections every two weeks with a powerful drug to lower cholesterol.

20 Jul 2017

Cruz plan gets thumbs up from HHS but thumbs down from most everyone else

Contradicting the opinion of most policy experts, a draft report from the Trump administration forecasts better enrollment and lower premiums for everyone who buys their own health insurance if a controversial amendment proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas were to become law.

19 Jul 2017

Obamacare repeal would spell loss of health cover for 32 million Americans

If the Republics go ahead with the plan to repeal Obamacare, around 32 million Americans would lose their health cover according to a prediction from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) yesterday. CBO is a non-partisan office that works to analyse pending bills and legislations.

19 Jul 2017

Obamacare exchanges in limbo

California's Obamacare exchange scrubbed its annual rate announcement this week, the latest sign of how the ongoing political drama over the Affordable Care Act is roiling insurance markets nationwide.

19 Jul 2017

Healthcare data breaches in England

According to Accenture’s survey of 1,000 consumers in England one-in-eight (13 per cent) have had their personal medical information stolen from technology systems. More than half (68 per cent) of English consumers said they want to have at least some involvement in keeping their healthcare data secured, whereas only a quarter (28 per cent) said that they have such involvement today.

19 Jul 2017

In Massachusetts, proposed Medicaid cuts put kids’ health care at risk

The U.S Senate’s plan to replace Obamacare, now in limbo, would cut funding for Medicaid and other health insurance subsidies by more than $1 billion a year within five years.

18 Jul 2017

Analysis: Senate’s latest health blueprint cuts costs at the expense of chronically ill

The latest Senate health proposal reins in costs by effectively splitting the individual insurance market, with healthy people diverted into stripped-down plans and chronically ill individuals left with pricey and potentially out-of-reach options, insurance analysts said.

17 Jul 2017

Transgender health care targeted in crusade to undo ACA

Solorah Singleton has been waiting years for breast augmentation. She doesn't want to jinx it now, but the Philadelphia resident thinks it's finally within reach.

13 Jul 2017