New state laws tackle private equity’s growing role in health care

New state laws article

GOP plans to replace Obamacare have failed. Here’s what lawmakers propose now

GOP plans to replace Obamacare have failed. Here’s what lawmakers propose now

We need a simple single payer system:

GOP plans to replace Obamacare have failed. Here’s what lawmakers propose now.

HealthCare.gov insurance rates to ‘skyrocket’ for 2026 without enhanced subsidies, Evers announces

HealthCare.gov insurance rates to ‘skyrocket’

Obama Care is Cooked

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-obamacare-is-cooked?utm_campaign=email-post&r=fqox&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email "But first, I want to discuss the news that health care premiums are going to skyrocket next year, after two years of already significant increases. These hikes are throwing both political parties, and the health care system, into turmoil. The ACA marketplaces may collapse, which means the intellectual promise of Obamacare is over, even though Democrats wish it weren’t so. But the Republicans have very little to offer, except on the edges, beyond pretending that all problems with health care started with Obamacare, and offering some snazzy but unimportant programs, like TrumpRx. So the politics of health care is paralyzed, even as the system is falling apart. The reason for this paralysis is simple."...................

Trump eases red tape on bare-bones health insurance. What this means for you

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/08/25/trump-expand-short-term-health-insurance/85742442007/?utm_source=usat-DailyBriefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-briefing-with-greeting&utm_term=Content%20List%20-%20Stacking%20-%20optimized&utm_content=8872UT-E-NLETTER02-Weekday With millions of people projected to lose health insurance over the next decade, President Donald Trump's administration appears ready to ease access to a potentially cheaper form of coverage. The Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury departments said they'll relax enforcement of a Biden-era rule that limited the use of a type of bare-bones health insurance, known as short-term health insurance. The plans are typically cheaper, but often lack protections for consumers who buy their own health insurance. Furthermore, the three departments expect to draft new rules to consider changes to these insurance plans. What is short-term health insurance? Short-term insurance plans often cost less than Affordable Care Act plans but come with a catch. Insurers that sell these plans don't offer all of the robust benefits of ACA plans. Also unlike ACA plans, insurers can deny or limit coverage based on a person's health status. As more people lose insurance or no longer qualify for subsidized ACA plans, some "might look to less comprehensive plans to at least provide some levels of coverage," said Michelle Long, senior policy manager of patient and consumer protections for KFF, a health policy nonprofit. Will Trump once again expand the use of short-term plans? The Trump administration is again taking steps to make these plans more accessible for insurers and consumers. In an Aug. 7 statement, the Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury departments said they "do not intend to prioritize enforcement actions" for plans that fail to meet the terms of a Biden-era rule that limited short-term plans and made companies disclose the limits of services and amounts the plans cover. HHS also "encourages states to adopt a similar approach" and back off enforcing Biden's four-month limit on short-term plans. The three federal agencies also said they intend to draft new rules and seek public comments to change the definition of short-term plans. The agencies didn't provide a timeline on when rule changes might be drafted. White House spokesman Kush Desai said the Trump administration is "committed to expanding affordable plans that give Americans more choices for health coverage." "It’s in the American people's interest to have more options and more competition in the insurance market," Desai said. Given that Trump previously allowed short-term plans to extend up to three years, "I generally anticipate that's where we're headed again," said Justin Giovannelli, project director at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute. American Association of Ancillary Benefits, an industry group representing short-term health insurers, sued HHS in U.S. District Court in Texas seeking to halt Biden's 2024 rule. A federal judge stayed the case and ordered HHS to respond by Aug. 28 to detail its plans to issue new rules on short-term plans. It's also unclear whether states will choose to scale back enforcement of Biden's short-term plan limits. Idaho has proposed relaxing rules on short-term plans. Other states such as California and Colorado have banned or limited short-term plans. Even if the Trump administration relaxes oversight of short-term plans, insurers will likely be cautious about selling plans until the administration drafts and finalizes more permissive rules, said Michael Cannon, directory of health policy for the libertarian Cato Institute. The online insurance marketplace eHealth allows consumers to compare and enroll in short-term plans. While the Trump administration has signaled plans to ease restrictions on these plans, eHealth officials urged consumers to be cautious. Whitney Stidom, vice president of consumer enablement at eHealth, consumers must be aware short-term plans are less comprehensive than ACA plans and typically lack coverage for some preventive services, mental health and preexisting conditions. "While short-term health insurance plans have value for people who are between jobs or only in need of limited coverage, it is important for individuals to understand the limitations of these options and make informed choices,” Stidom said. Democrats, Republicans differ on short-term plans For nearly a decade, the legal status of short-term health insurance plans has depended on who's been in the White House. In 2016, then-President Barack Obama's administration finalized a rule that limited short-term insurance plans to three months, a rule that took effect in 2017. The move came three years after the Democrat president's signature Affordable Care Act overhauled the health insurance market and marketed plans with minimum benefits such as prescription drug coverage, emergency and maternal care. ACA plans also prevent insurers from denying or limiting coverage based on a person's medical history − a common practice before 2014. In 2018, the Trump administration loosened restrictions on these short-term plans. The Republican president's administration allowed consumers to purchase plans up to one year and renew coverage up to three years. In 2019, about 3 million consumers signed up for short-term plans sold by 9 insurance companies, according to a June 2020 House oversight report. Biden's administration in 2024 instituted its rules for short-term health insurance. Are there benefits to short-term plans? For consumers who are healthy and earn too much to qualify for ACA plan subsidies, short-term plans might be a viable option for temporary coverage, Giovannelli said. An example would be someone who became uninsured due to a job loss or another change in life circumstances. But Giovannelli said these plans are more of a stopgap for consumers. "It's really quite risky for a person to be sold that product as an alternative to comprehensive coverage when it's really not," Giovannelli said. "You get a low, up-front cost if you are healthy, but there are no rules about all the back-end costs." These plans also might include annual or lifetime limits on coverage – both of which are not allowed under ACA plans. Cannon said Biden's four-month limit on these plans harms people who become ill while they are covered. He said healthy people can theoretically stack these plans, buying one plan after another from different insurers, to sustain coverage. But because short-term health insurers can deny coverage based on a person's medical history, a short-term insurance customer who is diagnosed with a new illness likely wouldn't qualify for a new plan. "The rule hurts people who get an expensive illness and cannot buy another plan," Cannon said. North Carolina man can't renew his short-term plan Charlotte, North Carolina, resident Steve Swicegood purchased a short-term plan sold by UnitedHealthcare over two years ago. The 59-year-old said his insurance is a "horrible plan" because it limits the number of doctor visits his family can make each year. He also now must pay more out of pocket for routine items such as immunizations and prescriptions. Charlotte, North Carolina resident Steve Swicegood is frustrated that his short-term health insurance plan will expire this year. He can't renew coverage under current federal regulations. The Trump administration signaled plans to ease restrictions on these cheaper, bare-bone health insurance plans. But the coverage worked for him. His insurance costs $900 a month to cover him, his wife and his college-age son. The cost is largely covered by his former employer, NBC News, which pays a monthly stipend for his health insurance as part of an early retirement benefit. He forfeits the NBC insurance payments if he takes another full-time job or ACA health insurance subsidy. If he selects an ACA plan, it will cost him an additional $800 each month, he said. He's frustrated because his family is healthy and doesn't visit the doctor often. Even with his short-term plan's limited coverage, it's worked for his family. He's not sure what he'll do when his plan expires at the end of the year. "As a consumer, I don't want to spend more money than I have to," Swicegood said. "What really infuriates me is in Washington (D.C.), they play these political games. That's obviously what happened with this kind of insurance."

“A Patient’s Perspective on German Healthcare”

Community Conversations Program at Menomonie Public Library on Sat., July 19, 2025 - “A Patient’s Perspective on German Healthcare” Sat, Jul 19, 12:30PM Lorene Vedder Fri, Jul 11 On July 19, 2025, native son, Brendan Ryan, will give a presentation: “A Patient’s Perspective on German Healthcare.” Germany’s healthcare system is highly accessible. It is funded by insurance contributions from everyone residing in Germany. Health Insurance is mandatory, either public and private. Premiums on the public insurance are based on income levels. Germany has the oldest national health insurance related to social legislation developed under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck from 1883 to 1889. The 3 principles behind this legislation are that (1) the government is responsible for ensuring access to healthcare to those who need it. (2) Implementation of healthcare should be done with the smallest political and administrative influence. (3) Healthcare professionals should set procedures for the healthcare system. Mandatory healthcare has expanded from low income workers and government employees to now cover the majority of residents and citizens in Germany. Our speaker, Brendan Ryan, moved to Menomonie with his mother, Margo Hecker, and his 2 sisters when he was 3 years old. He graduated from Menomonie Senior High School in 2011. He earned a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in German and Linguistics. In 2017, he received a MA in European Linguistics from the University of Freiburg. He and his wife Anna, a practicing pediatrician, and their 3 daughters are visiting family here in Menomonie and Elk Mound; he has offered to share his perspective about German healthcare as he has experienced it. He will be sharing how the cost of healthcare is paid by the residents of Germany. He will also speak about the aging population of Germany and how that will be affecting the healthcare system. As Germany is the 3rd largest refugee hosting country in the world with 2.5 million refugees, I am sure we will have questions about how contentious this issue of immigration is in Germany, especially in regards to providing healthcare to all residents. This presentation will be on Saturday, July 19, 2025, from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM at the Menomonie Public Library meeting room. We hope you are able to come. Lorene Vedder

Contact your U.S. House member

https://indivisible.actionkit.com/mailings/view/117901?t=53&akid=117901%2E513975%2Eof_6Da From U.S. Indivisible: "Yesterday, in the dead of night, House Republicans started moving their billionaire tax scam through committees. This is the part of the process where lawmakers sort out the actual meat and bones of the bill, and while everyone else was asleep, Republicans were putting together some of their most extreme policies and cuts. Two committees were still finalizing some details this afternoon, but here’s what we know is in the bill taking shape: A version of H.R. 9495 -- "the nonprofit killer" bill, that would allow the Trump administration to rip tax-exempt status away from organizations without due process $5 trillion in tax breaks that disproportionately go to billionaires -- 50% of the total giveaways go to the wealthiest 5% of Americans Medicaid work requirements and other healthcare cuts that would lead to 14 million people losing insurance and costs rising for an additional 20 million Americans Billions in cuts to clean energy programs on top of accelerated permitting for fossil fuel extraction Defunding Planned Parenthood $45 billion for immigrant detention centers to facilitate mass deportations Elimination of the IRS' popular direct file program that allowed people to file their taxes for free and bypass expensive tax software services The biggest cuts to anti-hunger programs in US history -- literally snatching food away from families in need so that billionaires can afford another yacht An end to student loan forgiveness Even when all the committees have wrapped up their work, it’s important to keep in mind: This bill is far from a done deal. GOP leaders will need just about every vote in their caucus to pass this thing -- including the votes of vulnerable Republicans who have already expressed concerns about some of these draconian cuts."

Americans Are Angry About Their Health Insurance—With Good Reason

Article Link: Americans Are Angry About Their Health Insurance—With Good Reason

This is some of what we must do to reform our dysfunctional healthcare system

Sanders on reforming our system