With the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) set to expire at the end of September, the Senate may be eyeing a long-term extension of the program, potentially up to five years. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and who co-authored the original CHIP bill with Senator Ted Kennedy, indicated this…
Read More »Harris to Co-Sponsor “Medicare for All” Bill During a town hall event this week in Oakland, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris announced her intention to co-sponsor the single-payer “Medicare for All” bill that U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders will introduce in September. Stating that “it’s just the right thing to do,” Harris departed from the position of…
Read More »On Tuesday this week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report requested by House Democrats analyzing the potential impact of terminating payments for cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) on the federal budget, health insurance coverage, market stability, and health insurance premiums. Under current law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurers to offer plans with reduced…
Read More »The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a new comprehensive plan to regulate tobacco and nicotine as part of a multi-year roadmap to better protect children and significantly reduce tobacco-related disease and death. At the center of the FDA’s regulatory efforts is a focus on nicotine and the issue of addiction. The agency…
Read More »Speaking to reporters this week, President Donald Trump indicated he is preparing to declare the growing opioid epidemic a “national emergency.” By declaring the epidemic an emergency, Trump promised “to spend a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of money on the opioid crisis.” The Trump Administration is reportedly still drafting…
Read More »After a dramatic week, Senate Republicans were unable to garner enough votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Below, we detail the series of events: Procedural Motion to Begin Debate: On Tuesday, the Senate held a vote on a motion to begin debate on the proposed options to repeal the ACA; the motion passed 51-50…
Read More »The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released technical guidance packages to assist local health departments and communities take advantage of the best available evidence to prevent and reduce violence. Each technical package is intended as a resource and information guide on prevention decision-making in communities in areas of sexual violence, child…
Read More »The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) will be hosting a two-day workshop entitled, The Neurocognitive and Psychosocial Impacts of Trauma, next week on July 31-August 1. The workshop will feature a significant focus on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) by taking a systems-based approach to exploring ways in which the growing body of…
Read More »This week featured a flurry of activities around the Senate’s attempt to strike consensus on how to proceed with repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had initially hoped to hold a procedural vote to begin debate on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) this week but was forced to…
Read More »Upon returning from their Independence Day Recess this week, Senate Republicans unveiled their revised version of the ‘Better Care Reconciliation Act’ to repeal-and-replace the Affordable Care Act. Senate Republicans experienced intense turmoil from within their party and stiff opposition from the general public after releasing their initial discussion draft of the BCRA on June 22….
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