ACA

U.S. judge rules insurers don’t have to cover many free preventive health services

BY: , and - March 31, 2023

WASHINGTON — Health insurance companies may no longer need to cover a wide swath of preventive health care services that were required by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, under a federal judge’s ruling issued Thursday in Texas. The decision could affect millions of Americans’ access to no-cost preventive health care — including pregnancy-related care, cancer screenings, […]

COMMENTARY

Free preventive care under the ACA is under threat again

BY: - September 14, 2022

By Paul Shafer, Boston University and Kristefer Stojanovski, Tulane University Many Americans breathed a sigh of relief when the U.S. Supreme Court left the Affordable Care Act in place following the law’s third major legal challenge in June 2021. This decision left widely supported policies in place, like ensuring coverage regardless of preexisting conditions, coverage […]

COMMENTARY

Lives hang in the balance as time runs out for action on health insurance

BY: - July 27, 2022

Five years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Yet I’m the lucky one. I could afford to get treatment. Too many people in America don’t have the health care they need, even today. The 2021 American Rescue Plan included subsidies to make health insurance more affordable than ever, resulting in a record-breaking […]

The ACA marketplace is open again for insurance sign-ups. Here’s what you need to know.

BY: - February 17, 2021

By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News For people who’ve been without health insurance during the pandemic, relief is in sight. In January, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to open up the federal health insurance marketplace for three months as of Monday so uninsured people can buy a plan and those who want to change their marketplace coverage […]

The Supreme Court could strike down Obamacare. Here’s what’s at stake.

BY: - November 10, 2020

WASHINGTON — The fate of the sweeping 2010 health care law known as Obamacare is again in limbo, with the Supreme Court on Tuesday set to hear arguments over whether that statute should be overturned. States are at the heart of the case and nearly every one has made an argument about why Obamacare should […]

COMMENTARY

What California v. Texas Could Mean for Ohio

BY: - November 10, 2020

Today the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in California v. Texas, a case that could determine the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the landmark legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. As then Vice President Joe Biden, now President-Elect, said at the time, caught on a hot mic, the law […]

A medical exam room.

Abortions continue to decline in the state

BY: - October 5, 2020

As court battles continue over legislation related to abortion, the Ohio Department of Health last week reported a 2% decline in the procedures. The annual report gathered information about abortions occurring in the state from confidential abortion reports and “post-abortion care reports for complications.” Last year, 20,102 “induced pregnancy terminations” were reported in Ohio, according […]

COMMENTARY

The health care long game: Biden, Harris, and Medicare for All

BY: - August 27, 2020

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s selection of Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate has meant different things to differently situated liberals and progressives. But as regards health care, the message is clear.  Harris’s presidential run failed in large part because she couldn’t stake out a coherent place in a crowded field of health care […]

COMMENTARY
blood pressure cuff

Medical catastrophe should never mean financial ruin as well

BY: - December 31, 2019

In nearly 15 years writing news, one of the most gut-wrenching, powerful stories I’ve ever covered happened three years ago this January when I interviewed Athens resident Alex Andrews less than a week after he had been shot through his kitchen window around 2 in the morning. He remembered it all, in vivid detail. He […]