Action Alerts

New Documentary

____________________________________________________

Breaking News in Healthcare Reform

Snippets of news & commentary with a special focus on

health policy, Medicare for All & California

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Like Weekly News Roundup? Then you’ll love our popular podcast Code WACK! where we shine a light on the outrageous hassles patients face when dealing with America’s callous healthcare system. Subscribe below!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Investigative journalists at ProPublica found that the insurance company Cigna is using an automated system to assess, and often deny, claims in bulk.”

How Algorithms Are Being Used to Deny Health Insurance Claims in Bulk

PBS NewsHour, Video + Transcript | Ali Rogan & Maya Miller | April 2, 2023

“Because of the administrative barriers associated with income verification and other eligibility tests, many people are likely to lose Medicaid coverage even though they’re still eligible for the program.”

15 Million People Could Lose Coverage as Nightmarish Medicaid ‘Purge’ Begins

Common Dreams | Jake Johnson | April 1, 2023

“The plaintiffs claimed in their suit that the mandate to cover HIV prevention drugs ‘forces religious employers to provide coverage for drugs that facilitate and encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and intravenous drug use’.”

Biden Administration Appeals Texas Court Decision Striking Down Free Obamacare Coverage of Preventive Care

CNBC | Spencer Kimball | March 31, 2023

“The decision comes more than four years after O’Connor, a nominee of former President George W. Bush, ruled that the entire health care law also known as ‘Obamacare’ was unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned that ruling.”

Judge’s Ruling Undercuts US Health Law’s Preventive Care

Associated Press | Paul J. Weber | March 30, 2023

“It added that the government now spends nearly as much on Medicare Advantage’s 29 million beneficiaries as on the Army and Navy combined. Plus, the additional diagnoses led to overpayments of $12 billion in 2020 alone, enough to cover hearing and vision care for every American over 65.”

Medicare Advantage Just Keeps Giving — To Insurers

The Cap Times | Dave Zweifel | March 29, 2023

“…two beliefs continue to resist universal health care. The first belief is that America is the greatest nation in the world, and hence our health care is better than anywhere else. Second, collecting taxes makes for a big government to interfere in people’s private lives.”

How American Cultural Assumptions Keep Us From Having Universal Health Care

CounterPunch | Nick Licata | March 29, 2023

“The bottom line of health insurance companies now depends crucially on their lobbying clout and ability to boost payments in Medicare and Medicaid.”

The Quiet Privatization of Government Health Insurance Programs

Axios | Caitlin Owens | March 28, 2023

“The bill, HR 1745, would give CMS the authority to deactivate NPIs tied to anyone convicted of waste, fraud, or abuse …”

Congressman Seeks to Plug ‘Shocking Loophole’ Exposed by KHN Investigation

Kaiser Health News | Sarah Jane Tribble | March 28, 2023

“Rather than propose a comprehensive policy bill developed by a few single payer experts (an essential component of our work but an approach that has not succeeded politically after numerous attempts), SB 770 seeks to engage health justice supporters of all stripes to collaborate on a proposal to be presented to the California Legislature under a definite timeline.”