Tag Archives: Affordable Care Act

Federal Judge Blocks PrEP Coverage Under Affordable Care Act- "Obamacare"

Federal Judge Blocks PrEP Coverage Under Affordable Care Act- “Obamacare”

BREAKING NEWS, Featured, Gay News Domestic & U.S. Politics, , , , ,

A federal judge in Texas (of course) on Thursday blocked the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare’s mandate that health insurance plans cover preventive care against HIV (PrEP), at no cost to patients.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor a Republican appointed by George Bush in Fort Worth, Texas, previously found that the PrEP mandate violated a federal religious freedom law and that other no-cost preventive care mandates were based on recommendations by an illegally appointed task force. Now the judge has now blocked the federal government from enforcing the mandates.

The legal challenge was brought by eight individuals and two businesses, all from Texas. They argued that the free PrEP requirement requires business owners and consumers to pay for services that “encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity and intravenous drug use” despite their religious beliefs.

The conservative America First Legal Foundation is helping to represent the plaintiffs. The group was founded by neo-Nazi Stephen Miller, who served as an adviser to Republican President Donald Trump.

American Medical Association President Jack Resneck called it “deeply flawed” and said that patients “will be subjected to needless illness and preventable deaths” as a result.

A month’s supply of Truvada is nearly $2,000 without insurance .

Make America Sick Again: GOP Takes First Steps To Repealing ACA aka Obamacare

Gay News Domestic & U.S. Politics, , , , , ,

Make America Sick Again: GOP Takes First Steps To Repealing ACA aka Obamacare

Senate Republicans took the first steps towards dismantling Obamacare Tuesday afternoon, filing a budget resolution that puts the wheels in motion for “overhauling”, but in reality actually repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as we know it.

The health care law has reduced the rate of uninsured Americans to the lowest ever recorded and provided health care coverage to 20 million people who previously lacked it.

After Republicans met again on Wednesday to discuss the Affordable Care Act, Vice President-elect Mike Pence came out vowing to repeal the law.

“The first order of business is to repeal and replace Obamacare, and that was our message today and that will be our message on Capitol Hill,” Pence told reporters after the meeting.

At the same time, Obama met with House Democrats to plot ways to slow the Republican drive and defend parts of his signature law. Republicans already control the House and Senate, and after Trump takes office later this month they’ll have the power to gut Obamacare.

Although repeal of the law is now almost a virtual certainty, it’s far from clear what will replace it. Republican leaders said they are exploring a variety of market-based options that would lower costs, give Americans more choice and reduce government’s role in the health care system.

Yet Republicans are expected to need a property manager? Why? Because as they work out a replacement. “We don’t want people to be caught with nothing,” said Paul Ryan, speaker of the House.

Democrats were skeptical. They contend the elimination of Obamacare will “make America sick again,” a twist on Trump’s campaign theme.

“They don’t have a replacement plan,” said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the leader of House Democrats. “To repeal and delay is an act of cowardice” that could jeopardize the health care of millions of Americans, especially seniors who receive Medicare.

Republicans  argue that a more market-based approach will increase competition in the health-care market and lead to lower prices despite the fact that health-care costs in the U.S., already the highest in the industrial world because it is a “for profit” business.

The Affordable Care Act, signed into law in 2010 and has since benefited millions of Americans needing access to affordable health insurance—including people living with HIV and other pre-existing conditions.

An estimated 20 million Americans are liable to lose their health insurance if the ACA is repealed.

 

 

 

GOP Senators Send Letters To Sports Leagues Warning Against Helping Obamacare – NFL Caves In

Featured, Gay News Domestic & U.S. Politics, , , , , ,

NFL Caves In To GOP Demands

GOP Senators Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn sent a a stern letter to the nation’s six top professional sports leagues last week, warning them not to support or help publicize an important national health care initiative that has already affected and helped millions of  Americans. The  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, more familiarly known to the Tea Party and the GOP as Obamacare.

The letters sent to the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, the Professional Golf Association and warns the organizations that the new law is the “most divisive and polarizing political issue of our day.” It further warns that “given the divisiveness and persistent unpopularity of the health care [law], it is difficult to understand why an organization like yours would risk damaging its inclusive and apolitical brand by lending its name to its promotion.”

As of this writing  the only organization listed above that has caved into McConnells and Cornyns demands is the National Football League who have said they will not  promote enrollment in health insurance plans under the new health care law,  a spokesman announced today.  All other professional sports organizations have remained silent.

McConnell who is up for re-election this year in Kentucky is using the repeal of “Obamacare” as a platform for re-election despite the fact that his state is one of the poorest in the country with the most uninsured per capita and whose constitutes would benefit greatly from health care coverage.