Healthcare

Healthcare

The new interim budget deal signed by President Trump not only re-opened the government but it delayed the 2.3% tax on medical devices for another two years.  It also authorized for an additional six years the CHIP, the program that helps families with children who make too much for Medicaid but not enough to qualify for private insurance.

The House voted to obligate providers to care for babies born alive post abortion.  This is already the law and has no chance in the Senate.  The GOP in the House only wanted to get a Senate vote for election posturing.

Oregon voters decided to tax themselves for Medicaid funding.  The state has a huge percentage of its citizens and non-citizens on the Medicaid roster and was running short of money to care for the people.  Of course no one told them it would cost even more than they voted for their Medicaid program.  The legislature now must get an additional $200 to 300 million for the program, gutting other social programs.  They want to do this in an abbreviated 35 day session which is already over crowded with agenda items. 

Pennsylvania has changed the definition of charity care which forces hospitals to tell virtually all patients about their charity care eligibility.  They have not been doing this.

The California Dems do not care about logic only agenda.  The state Senate approved a bill to require the state universities to be the first in the nation to be required to provide medication abortion services.  This means higher costs for liability, training and 24/7 phone response.  The sponsors believes that 10 to 17 women would use the service in the university system per month and an additional 9 to 15 at each state school.  

The New York governor has announced a deal with the Senate Republican leader and the Assembly Democratic speaker to allow med mal cases involving failing to diagnose cancer.  The statute of limitations would increase from 15 months to two and one half years after the patient knew or should have known of an alleged negligence.  It would also allow suits up to seven years after a cancer is missed.  Why would physicians want to practice in the state that is physician unfriendly?        Top