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Pulse8 to Sponsor the Upcoming Gorman Health Group 2017 Forum

April 26, 2017, 12:08 am
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Pulse8, the only healthcare analytics and technology company delivering complete visibility into the efficacy of Risk Adjustment and Quality Management programs, is excited to once again sponsor the upcoming Gorman Health Group 2017 Forum, April 26-27, at the JW Marriott in New Orleans, Louisiana.

New Orleans, LA (PRWEB) April 26, 2017

The annual Forum is the premier educational forum within the government programs landscape. Pulse8 is honored to work with the renowned team of Gorman Health Group (GHG) experts, presenters, and industry pioneers who will offer advice on key issues related to effective compliance program management, product development, network adequacy, emerging trends in technology solutions, Star Ratings, and Risk Adjustment.

“Now and in the future, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Health Insurance Marketplaces are the leading sources of revenue for insurers and providers alike. Nailing a sound strategy and tactics to master these programs and the regulatory complexities they bring is where this event comes in,” said John Gorman, GHG’s Founder & Executive Chairman.

Pulse8 has developed the most rigorous, scientifically tested algorithms in the risk adjustment and quality analytics space, along with the dynamic intervention planning required to ensure a coordinated approach to all gap closure efforts. Pulse8 continues to advance its solutions for risk-bearing entities by leveraging newer technologies and alternative intervention modalities.

“Pulse8 applies computer-aided coding (CAC), natural language generation (NLG), and EMR integration, along with other technologies, to drive efficiencies and improve compliance in the healthcare system,” remarked Pulse8 CEO, John Criswell. “In partnership with the Gorman Health Group, we enable our clients to improve their financial profile while ensuring compliance and streamlining administrative expense.”

Led by GHG’s subject matter experts and innovative leaders from health plans across the country, attendees can expect to share knowledge and best practices, network with other industry experts, and plan for future initiatives in a content-charged atmosphere.

Pulse8 is the only Healthcare Analytics and Technology Company delivering complete visibility into the efficacy of your Risk Adjustment and Quality Management programs. We enable health plans and at-risk providers to achieve the greatest financial impact in the ACA Commercial, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid markets. By combining advanced analytic methodologies with extensive health plan experience, Pulse8 has developed a suite of uniquely pragmatic solutions that are revolutionizing risk adjustment and quality. Pulse8’s flexible business intelligence tools offer real-time visibility into member and provider activities so our clients can apply the most cost-effective and appropriate interventions for closing gaps in documentation, coding, and quality. For more company information, please contact Scott Filiault at (732) 570-9095, visit us at http://www.Pulse8.com, or follow us on Twitter @Pulse8News.

Gorman Health Group is the leading consulting and software solutions firm specializing in government health programs, including Medicare managed care, Medicaid, and Health Insurance Marketplace opportunities. Since 1996, our unparalleled teams of subject matter experts, former health plan executives, and seasoned healthcare regulators have been providing strategic, operational, financial, and clinical services to the industry across a full spectrum of business needs. Further, our software solutions have continued to place efficient and compliant operations within our client’s reach. Learn more at http://gormanhealthgroup.com and follow us on Twitter @gormanhealth. Reported by PRWeb 16 hours ago.
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Fire and ICE: Hiding in Plain Sight

April 26, 2017, 2:12 am
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Aura Bogado

Capital & Main is an award-winning publication that reports from California on economic, political and social issues. The American Prospect is co-publishing this piece.

It’s Monday afternoon in Bellflower, a small suburb in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. Juana, 34, and a neighbor from her apartment complex are watching their sons. (All names in this story have been changed to protect undocumented people's identities.) It’s one of Juana’s two days off per week from the luxury hotel she works at in Beverly Hills as a housekeeper. The two boys, both three years old, are playing on the couch in the small living room that doubles as a dining area, with a kitchen tucked into a corner. Aside from helping watch over the children, Juana’s neighbor holds a gaze through an opening in the front window curtain, and eventually spots someone outside. “That’s the man with the gas company,” she tells Juana in Spanish. “It’s fine if you want to open the door when he knocks.”

Both women were originally from El Salvador. They help one another with ordinary neighborly tasks like saving a washer in the building’s laundry room for a load of clothes. As women from Central America who are terrified of Donald Trump, they watch one another’s backs the way immigrants and refugees would under a new administration that partly came into power on the promise of mass deportations. These days, the women say, every knock on the door, every step outside, and every ride on public transit merits scrutiny.

I spent the better part of a week with Juana—morning, noon, and night—to try to make sense of her life under Trump, watching her calculate and recalculate even the smallest decisions in her life.

The man at her door, it turns out, works with an energy-savings assistance project and he’s here to let Juana know she’s eligible for a free, brand-new refrigerator. He just needs to confirm she qualifies for the program, which rewards low-income residents with energy-efficient appliances. He enters the tiny one-bedroom apartment to inspect the existing refrigerator, as Juana explains there are three others living here: her husband Roberto, her 9-year-old daughter Bella and her son Bobby. The man jots down some notes and leaves.

Juana’s friend—who currently has an open asylum claim after fleeing El Salvador with her then-toddler son two years ago—is part of an informal support network that helps keep Juana safe as an undocumented immigrant in Los Angeles, the place she’s called home since shortly after arriving here in 2006. Conversations between the women persistently return to the issue of immigration; Juana’s husband, Roberto, is undocumented, while her children are both United States-born citizens.

Later, she tells me that had her friend not been there to inform her that the man wasn’t an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, she wouldn’t have opened the door. Instead, she would have hidden inside all day and into the night.

 

*ICE employs what it calls* a sensitive location policy, which dictates that agents should take considerable measures to avoid enforcement actions at hospitals, schools, and churches. Yet since Trump assumed office, ICE has detained a woman at a hospital, a father a few blocks from his daughters’ schools, and a group of men leaving a church shelter where they were keeping warm.

“Did you hear about the young woman who entered on a visa from Argentina and talked to the press?” Juana asks me one evening. She’s referring to Daniela Vargas, who was detained by ICE moments after speaking at a news conference. Juana knows the story of every high-profile detention and deportation since Trump took office. Although ICE’s policy discourages agents from targeting people at the site of a public demonstration like the one Vargas addressed, that didn’t stop her from being detained. “It’s a risk for us to talk to reporters,” Juana reminds me.

A few weeks ago, Juana was on her way to work on a Metro train when she saw a friend’s Facebook post about ICE’s presence at Union Station—a stop she wasn’t headed toward but is nevertheless on the same line she was riding. When her shift ended, she asked her friend at work for a ride back home, rather than risk the train. She avoided public transportation entirely for the next five days.

In addition to verifiable news about ICE’s enforcement, and warranted warnings from her network of supportive friends, false rumors have also taken root in Juana’s life and have caused her to drastically alter her decision-making. She’d long planned to send her daughter, Bella, to visit El Salvador for the first time, either during winter or spring break, but heard that immigration agents—with vicious dogs—were swarming LAX. Although there’s no evidence of this, the rumor alone is enough for Juana to completely avoid an airport she’s visited in the past. Juana’s fear means Bella can’t visit her parent’s homeland—at least until Trump leaves office.

Juana does have rights as an undocumented immigrant, but she’s not sure what those rights are. The labor union she belongs to holds know-your-rights workshops, but she’s terrified that if she attends, her co-workers will figure out her status. Only one friend at work knows Juana is undocumented; she fears if more find out, it could all be downhill from there.

Aside from the psychological toll the constant vigilance since Trump’s election has taken on her, Juana is also risking her physical health. While she has employer-based health insurance through Kaiser, she canceled an annual physical because the fake document (which contained her real name and birthday) she was previously using to identify herself, has expired. “There are a lot of racist people,” she tells me. “What if one of them starts questioning me about my documentation?” Although she’s been struggling with digestive issues and poor circulation, she’s willing to forgo a doctor’s visit because of her uncertainty.

I explain how she can use another form of identification to go to Kaiser, like a passport. Sometime later, she shows me her Salvadoran passport and wonders why her initial panic stopped her from thinking about using it as a different form of ID. What Juana knows about this administration hurts her—but what she doesn’t know about her rights under Trump harms her, too.

 

*Juana came to the United States in 2006*, when she was 23. El Salvador’s civil war had ended in 1992, but the vast rift between the haves and have-nots that largely fueled the war lives on—and it continues to inform the country’s violence.

Juana had done especially well in mathematics in school but her family couldn’t afford to send her to college to prepare for her dream of becoming an accountant. Instead, she worked factory jobs after graduating high school. She came to the U.S. at a time when there were no real options for her to escape poverty at home. In the decade she’s been gone, El Salvador has exploded with a kind of violence that scares her far more than the threats from Trump’s administration.

“The first tragedy we lived through was in 2011, when my mom’s older brother couldn’t pay the rent,” she says. The rent she’s referring to isn’t a payment made to a landlord, however, but payments extorted by local gangs. Her uncle was killed. Then, in 2012, a second uncle was killed because he, too, couldn’t pay the rent. That left one uncle behind, who came to the U.S. that year and was granted asylum here. In 2013, her aunt came to the U.S. and was also granted asylum along with her two children. That year, however, Juana’s father was shot in the legs but can apparently still walk. “I can’t really tell you how well my dad is doing,” shrugs Juana. “I haven’t seen him since before he was shot.”

In 2015, her brother-in-law, an undercover cop who had helped put away several gang members, was killed after his boss set him up for a pay-off. His wife, Juana’s sister, became a target after it was rumored that she was a police informant. Her sister went into hiding along with her 11-year-old daughter before fleeing north. They were apprehended just over this side of the U.S. border but were soon released pending an asylum hearing.

But there’s no such process that Juana thinks is currently available to her—she can be an undocumented immigrant, but not an asylee. This, despite the fact her family has consistently been hunted down in El Salvador, a place she’s seen grow increasingly violent from a distance. “I can’t imagine myself back there,” she says.

 

*Juana wakes up at 5 a.m.* on her workdays, Wednesday through Sunday. Roberto does custom construction work six days a week and has Sundays off—which means the two rarely get to spend a day together. Roberto drives and has a license under California’s undocumented driver program. The license, which is part of a database, is marked to distinguish his undocumented status, but Roberto says it’s better to be licensed and insured than to fly under the radar. Juana never got a license and the car she was using for short errands started acting up recently; instead of getting it fixed, she’s opted to stop driving. It’s too risky now, anyway.

It’s still dark out and Roberto yawns while he puts his boots on. “There’s no rest here,” he tells me, adding that it’s all work and bills in the United States. He works 48 hours a week earning $12 an hour as an independent contractor. The pay could be worse but it’s challenging every April when the couple forks over their share of taxes to the government.

By 5:35 a.m., Roberto is warming up the car. Bella is walking with her backpack on as Juana carries a sleeping little Bobby in a blanket. They all get into the car and drive a few minutes over to the friend who will watch the children; she’ll walk Bella to school and back, and watch Bobby all day. By 6:10 a.m., Roberto drops Juana off at a rail stop.

Juana works the 8 a.m. shift cleaning rooms. She likes the union job and its perks—but as with any job, it comes with its challenges. People who can drop a thousand dollars a night on a hotel stay tend to be demanding. Some can say inappropriate things. There was a fistfight between two guests at the hotel several months ago and the police were called. She didn’t think much of it then, but is terrified of being near police since Trump got elected.

After an eight-hour shift, Juana walks back to the bus to begin her commute home, along with her friend from work—the one who knows she’s undocumented. This afternoon we’re all walking down a posh but ill-designed residential Beverly Hills street that’s become a throughway for heavy traffic, when the driver of a new sports car almost runs us over. Juana and her friend keep walking as if nothing happened. She tells me later that some Beverly Hills residents assume that because of our skin color, we’re all housekeepers and are therefore not worthy of common courtesy. Confronting the driver could result in further scrutiny from law enforcement—so rather than say anything to him, the women ignored the incident.

On the last train back home, I spot a sheriff’s deputy quickly board the car in the front of us. As soon as I let her know, Juana calmly puts her phone away and tries to distinguish the deputy through the shadows caused by the sun beginning to set on Los Angeles. For the next three stops, Juana trains her eyes on him without flinching. If I didn’t know what she was doing, I’d guess she was zoning out. She’s not.

When we detrain, Juana asks me to look back and confirm the deputy’s not following us. He’s not, I assure her. She explains she was extremely alarmed because he was alone when he should have been with a partner, since that’s how they always patrol rail cars. Even for people terrified of law enforcement, one deputy shouldn’t garner more trepidation than two deputies, but in Juana’s case, it makes sense. There was something out of the ordinary and it required closer examination—this time, her complete attention to make sure the deputy wasn’t an ICE agent.

Immigration enforcement is a system—abstract and difficult to put your finger on. Sure, Juana fears the system, but that fear has also caused her to fear individuals, too: the obliging appliance man, the imaginary Kaiser receptionist, the obnoxious sports car driver—they all present a potential danger to an undocumented woman surviving the Trump era. Reported by The American Prospect 14 hours ago.
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United States: HHS Proposes Regulations To Stabilize Health Insurance Markets - Brown Smith Wallace

April 26, 2017, 2:59 am
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Most of the attention regarding health care reform has focused on the prospective repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act Reported by Mondaq 13 hours ago.
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Obamacare 101 — What's the big debate over health insurance cost-sharing subsidies?

April 26, 2017, 3:26 am
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As President Trump and congressional leaders scramble to put together a spending bill to keep the government from shutting down at the end of this week, negotiations could turn on the fate of an arcane, but critical part of the Affordable Care Act: cost-sharing reduction payments, or CSRs.

If you’ve... Reported by L.A. Times 12 hours ago.
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United States: Antitrust Exemption For Health Insurance Companies May Come To A Close - Arnall, Golden & Gregory LLP

April 26, 2017, 3:13 am
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Recently, the House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 372, also known as the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2017, which would close the longstanding antitrust immunity Reported by Mondaq 13 hours ago.
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Index Engines and FTI Consulting Partner to Deliver Enterprise-Scale Data Governance Solutions

April 26, 2017, 4:04 am
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Partnership provides corporations with comprehensive, enterprise-class reporting, classification and disposition for both network and backup data

HOLMDEL, NJ (PRWEB) April 26, 2017

Index Engines announced a partnership today with FTI Consulting’s Technology segment for use of its patented enterprise information management software. This partnership enables organizations to leverage both Index Engines’ technology and FTI Technology’s award-winning Information Governance & Compliance Services (IG&CS) practice to meet the challenges of today’s regulatory, legal and data management requirements.

Many corporate governance policies encompass internal requirements – security, intellectual property (IP) management, and the reduction of redundant, obsolete and trivial (ROT) content – along with external policies, including privacy, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other industry or location-based mandates. Meeting these requirements can be difficult, as many of these policies require access to aged data that is difficult to find. The data center is a complex environment not designed to support search and classification across massive volumes of content often in proprietary formats such as backup images.

The partnership between Index Engines and FTI Technology bridges this gap, giving organizations a clear view on what data exists and enabling sound governance and defensible deletion strategies to be put into place. Index Engines delivers powerful, petabyte-class data classification and management software that finds, analyzes, reports, disposes of and preserves content based on policy.

“As data breaches and data privacy regulations dominate the news, companies can’t afford the risk of letting their networks and legacy tape ‘dark data’ get into the wrong hands,” said Jake Frazier, a Senior Managing Director and Leader of the IG&CS practice at FTI Consulting. “No matter the volume or data type, this partnership with Index Engines enables us to work with clients to analyze and classify materials so they can defensibly dispose of materials in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.”

The Index Engines technology supports all classes of data, including files, emails, archives and legacy backup data, and enables FTI Technology’s consultants to index petabytes of data at speeds reaching up to 1 TB per hour. In addition, the Index Engines technology can create reports, filters and queries as well as automate actions including copy, delete, migrate or archive.

“When vital corporate records aren’t readily accessible and no one knows how to manage them, companies can be open to lawsuits, fines or criminal liability,” Index Engines CEO Tim Williams said. “This partnership will help companies create and enforce policies throughout their global enterprise data centers.”

For more information on the partnership, please visit http://www.indexengines.com/contact-us

Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.

All products mentioned are trademarked by their respective organizations.

About IndexEngines

Index Engines is the leader in enterprise information management and archiving solutions. Businesses today face a significant challenge organizing their information to ensure timely and cost efficient access and management of user data. Determining the disposition of data is a top priority for any organization that wants to manage growing storage costs and control risk associated with electronic data. As a result, legal and information technology departments that need smarter approach to mitigate data risks and control the growing expenditures of data storage turn to Index Engines.

About FTI Consulting

FTI Consulting, Inc. is a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political & regulatory, reputational and transactional. With more than 4,700 employees located in 29 countries, FTI Consulting professionals work closely with clients to anticipate, illuminate and overcome complex business challenges and make the most of opportunities. The Company generated $1.81 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2016. More information can be found at http://www.fticonsulting.com. Reported by PRWeb 12 hours ago.
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Edge Hosting Successfully Completes HIPAA HITECH Audit for Third Consecutive Year

April 26, 2017, 5:16 am
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Independent Evaluation Emphasizes Ongoing Commitment to Protecting Healthcare Data

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) April 26, 2017

Edge Hosting, a leading managed service provider focused on secure and compliant business outcomes, today announced the culmination of annual auditing against the Security Rule of The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The successful completion of the HIPAA/HITECH audit is part of the company’s pledge to maintaining and affirming adherence to stringent security standards and protocols.

“For Edge Hosting, the sense of duty to securely maintain e-PHI goes far beyond an audit. Given the monetary value of healthcare information to hackers, foreign agents and corporate espionage activities, and the increasing burden it places on our healthcare system, providing security and ongoing controls to our healthcare customers is paramount,” said Mark Houpt, CISO, Edge Hosting.

Edge Hosting is a trusted Business Associate and managed hosting provider to Covered Entities who manage electronic Protected Health Information (e-PHI) or provide services to companies that manage e-PHI in their applications. The increase in data breaches plaguing healthcare organizations of all sizes and the proliferation of mobile devices in patient care only underscores the need for protecting patient data.

CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP conducted the audit following the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) audit protocol. The OCR HIPAA protocol analyzes processes, controls, and policies pursuant to the HITECH Act. The audit covered Edge’s administrative safeguards, physical safeguards and technical safeguards. In addition, the OCR HIPAA audit included the testing of organizational requirements and policies, procedures and documentation requirements.

About Edge Hosting
Edge designs, operates, and simplifies secure and compliant IaaS and PaaS Managed Cloud Hosting that delivers comprehensive operational coverage of controls for FedRAMP, HIPAA, PCI, SSAE 16 SOC 2 Type II and EU Privacy Shield Framework. Edge’s services include Compliance Architecture & Audit Support, Cloud Migration & Design, AWS Managed Services, and Secure Federal/Healthcare Hybrid Clouds.

Our mission is to be the easiest partner to host business critical, secure, and compliant web sites and applications. With a relentless focus on our customers, Edge improves business outcomes by leveraging more than twenty years of experience in highly regulated industries including government, financial services, and healthcare. Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.
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Trump’s Anti-Obamacare Stance Depresses Growth of Healthcare Payer Business Process Outsourcing Market—Everest Group

April 26, 2017, 5:11 am
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Amid uncertainty, healthcare payers confidently adopting Robotic Process Automation, BPaaS and predictive analytics

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) April 26, 2017

The Affordable Care Act contributed to an 11 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the healthcare payer business process outsourcing (BPO) market from 2013 through 2015, but in 2016, growth declined slightly to 9 percent owing to political and regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. Everest Group expects a further downturn—7 to 9 percent CAGR—through 2018 due to the anti-Affordable Care Act stance of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump and uncertainty surrounding the changes his administration could bring to the market.

“With the withdrawal of the Republicans' first attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, a great deal of uncertainty remains in the healthcare market, but one thing we can be sure of is the tremendous impact that technology will have on healthcare payer BPO going forward,” said Anupam Jain, practice director at Everest Group. “Payer's needs are evolving from traditional purchasing drivers, such as cost reduction, to emerging purchasing drivers such as access to better technology and domain expertise. More specifically, payers are increasingly demanding new-age solutions such as robotic process automation, business process as a service, and predictive analytics as they move towards imbibing value-based care models.”

In 2016, other key themes that dominated the healthcare payer BPO market included an industry shift towards value-based reimbursement (VBR) models, payer-provider convergence, and the withdrawal from health insurance exchanges of several payers who cited rising losses as the main reason for this move.

A more detailed discussion about the healthcare payer BPO market is available in “Healthcare Payer BPO – Annual Report: Value-Based Sourcing Helping Payers Stay Afloat in an Era of Uncertainty.” This report provides a detailed analysis of the market size and growth, key drivers and challenges, solution characteristics, and the service provider landscape.

Other key findings:· In terms of adoption characteristics, cost reduction continues to be the most important purchase driver for buyers; however, their focus on technology (automation, analytics, etc.) and expertise is increasing
· Buyers’ preference for short contract length continues to rise, as it gives them the flexibility to replace a service provider in case of non-compliance
· Claims management continues to be the most outsourced process in the healthcare payer BPO market, with a share of 60 percent
· The market continues to remain consolidated at the top, with Accenture, Cognizant, Conduent and HPE together accounting for over 60 percent of the market by revenue

About Everest Group
Everest Group is a consulting and research firm focused on strategic IT, business services, and sourcing. We are trusted advisors to senior executives of leading enterprises, providers, and investors. Our firm helps clients improve operational and financial performance through a hands-on process that supports them in making well-informed decisions that deliver high-impact results and achieve sustained value. Our insight and guidance empower clients to improve organizational efficiency, effectiveness, agility and responsiveness. What sets Everest Group apart is the integration of deep sourcing knowledge, problem-solving skills and original research. Details and in-depth content are available at http://www.everestgrp.com.

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Contact:

Andrea M. Riffle, Everest Group
andrea.riffle(at)everestgrp(dot)com

Robert Cathey, Cathey Communications for Everest Group
+1-865-386-6118
robert(at)cathey(dot)co Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.
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Republicans have a new plan to repeal Obamacare — and it may bring them closer to passing 'Trumpcare'

April 26, 2017, 5:56 am
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Republicans have a new plan to repeal Obamacare — and it may bring them closer to passing 'Trumpcare' Republicans have a new plan to revive their overhaul of the healthcare system, and it may bring the party closer to passing their bill.

The amendment to the American Health Care Act, offered by Rep. Tom MacArthur of New Jersey, appears to satisfy many demands made by conservatives in the House GOP conference that originally sank the bill. However, questions remain over the ability to get moderates on board.

The new plan is broadly similar to the rough outline leaked on Thursday. It allows states to opt out of two of the biggest provisions of Obamacare, given that they have other measures in place, unless denied by the federal government.

Here's a quick rundown of the key provisions of the amendment:

· *Allows states to waive essential health benefits:* Under Obamacare, health insurance plans were required to cover a baseline of health benefits such as maternity care and emergency room visits. Under the new amendment, states could define their own essential health benefits if they show that it would cause prices to decrease. This could allow states to eliminate some of the baseline benefits in the AHCA since covering fewer benefits would allow insurers to offer cheaper plans, but it could also end up with slimmer plans and less care for people enrolled.
· *Allows states to waive aspects of the community rating:* Under Obamacare, community rating rules made it so that insurers had to charge the same price to consumers in a certain area regardless of gender, pre-existing condition, and other factors. Under the AHCA's new amendment, states could get around this rule if they provided some funding for people with pre-existing conditions to get coverage, participate in the "invisible high risk pools" established by the AHCA, or "provide incentives to appropriate entities" to "stabilize premiums." While the bill says the waiver cannot limit access to people with pre-existing conditions, it is unclear what the baseline of funding would be to grant this waiver. Therefore, people with pre-existing conditions could still end up having higher costs.
· *Default approval:* States requesting a waiver would have to be denied within 60 days of notifying the Department of Health and Human Services. If the HHS does not explicitly deny the waiver request, it is approved. This would allow the Trump administration to decide how rigorous the process would be for states.

*Still not a slam dunk*

These new provisions have been key sticking points to bringing conservative members who originally prevented the plan from making it to a vote on board with the bill. 

After the text of the bill was released on Tuesday, a number of conservatives came out in favor of the amended AHCA.

"It’s pretty much everything I was looking for in terms of concessions," Rep. Scott DesJarlais, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told Bloomberg.

A number of other Freedom Caucus members came out in support of the amended bill and chair Rep. Mark Meadows told reporters after a meeting at the White House that he is "optimistic" about the plan.

Rep. Gary Palmer also told Axios "we're really close, if not there" on getting enough votes to pass the bill.

However, questions remain as to if the AHCA has enough support from more moderate members of the party. Moderate GOP members were already concerned about concessions to conservatives regarding some of the essential health benefits and protections for pre-existing conditions.

Rep. Charlie Dent, a key moderate member of the House GOP, told the Washington Examiner that even with the MacArthur amendment he is against the AHCA.

"Based on what I've read, it does not change my position. I was a no, and I remain a no," said Dent on Tuesday.

*SEE ALSO: Republicans could be the biggest obstacle to Trump's massive planned tax cut for businesses*

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: People are outraged by this shocking video showing a passenger forcibly dragged off a United Airlines plane Reported by Business Insider 10 hours ago.
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Mulvaney On Latest Government Shutdown Status: "I'm Not Sure What's Happening"

April 26, 2017, 5:51 am
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Mulvaney On Latest Government Shutdown Status: I'm Not Sure What's Happening Earlier this week, courtesy of Trump's latest flip-flop on the border wall, it looked as though a path had been cleared for a bi-partisan funding bill to be passed that would avert a government shutdown starting Friday night.

*That said, it seems that Democrats may actually be eager to force a government shutdown after all.*  As budget director Mick Mulvaney explained to CNN last night, after giving in on border wall funding, something Dems defined as a critical issue to avert a shutdown, *Democrats have apparently gone radio silent.*



*Tapper:*  "And there will be an agreement, you think?"

 

*Mulvaney*:  "I hope so.  Here's what concerns me.  We informed the democrats yesterday that we were not going to insist, for now, on bricks and mortar [for the border wall].  We're going to move that discussion to September of this year for fiscal year 18.  *And we thought that was going to get a deal done. And we've not heard anything from them today.  So, now i'm not so sure what is happening.  I'd be curious to ask the democrats where they stand on a shutdown right now because we thought we had a deal as of yesterday."*



 

As Reuters points out, now that funding for the border wall is off the table, democrats are* suddenly far more interested in securing funding for healthcare subsidies and Puerto Rico's Medicaid program.*



The most powerful Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said on Tuesday his party is concerned about the ratio of increase in defense and non-defense spending. Democrats prefer a one-to-one ratio, and boosting both sides of the budget equally could become a sticking point in negotiations.

 

*Democrats also want provisions for more healthcare coverage for coal miners and appropriations for healthcare subsidies.* Health insurance would abruptly become unaffordable for 6 million Americans who rely on cost-sharing subsidies under the national health plan commonly called Obamacare.

 

*Democrats have been seeking immediate assistance for a funding gap in Puerto Rico's Medicaid program,* federal health insurance for the poor, saying it is in such bad shape that 1 million people are set to lose healthcare.



But, as Mulvaney noted above, Trump has vowed to cut off Obamacare subsidies, at least until this next flip, and Democrats seemingly raised the Puerto Rico issue out of no where. 



Mulvaney also said Trump would not agree to including Obamacare subsidies in a spending bill.

 

He told CNN that Democrats *"raised Puerto Rico for the first time a couple of days ago,"* but did not give Trump's stance on the Medicaid assistance.



Of course, *it's only logical that Democrats would secretly want a government shut down. * In the end, Republicans (i.e. the fiscally conservative party that is generally looking to reduce entitlements rather than increase them) typically tend to take the brunt of the public backlash for government shutdowns and *all of the media coverage provides a very effective bully pulpit for liberals*.  Well played, Chuck and Nancy. Reported by Zero Hedge 10 hours ago.
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New health insurance rule issued in Abu Dhabi

April 26, 2017, 9:48 am
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The Crown Prince also ordered a study to establish a medical city in Abu Dhabi Reported by Khaleej Times 6 hours ago.
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The GOP Has Its Finger On The Grenade That Would Blow Up Obamacare

April 26, 2017, 12:38 pm
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President Donald Trump could be just weeks away from fulfilling his threat to explode the Obamacare market by halting crucial payments to health insurance companies, and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has declared he’s not planning to do anything about it.

During a telephone call Tuesday evening, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that the Trump administration may withhold next month’s distribution of cost-sharing reduction payments, or CSRs, according to a House Democratic aide who asked not to be identified. Those payments reimburse insurers who serve the lowest-income people who get coverage from the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges.

Democrats have been pushing to make sure those payments continue ― either by having the Trump administration continue to dispense them, by relying on its own authority to do so, or by having Congress appropriate the money directly. An obvious vehicle for the latter would be the omnibus spending bill, now under consideration in Congress, that is supposed to fund government operations past April 30.

“Pelosi reiterated the Democratic negotiators’ position that CSR payments must be included in the omnibus. Mulvaney indicated that, while the Trump administration had continued the CSR payments, they had not yet decided whether they would make the May payment,” the aide wrote in an email.

A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget disputed some parts of this account, but did not deny Mulvaney’s comments about the possibility of stopping insurer payments after May. And in written statement, Mulvaney made clear the administration was not eager to see the subsidies as part of the omnibus spending bill ― calling them “an 11th hour bailout of Obamacare.”

Over on Capitol Hill, Ryan confirmed that the omnibus spending bill won’t include the funding. “Obviously CSRs, we’re not doing that. That is not in an appropriation bill. That is something separate that the administration does,” Ryan said.

The consequences of halting these payments to health insurance companies could be devastating for people who buy coverage on their own, rather than through employers. Insurers would face higher costs, and in many states they could respond by cancelling coverage for the rest of 2017.

Even to the extent insurers decided to stay in the markets, this year or next, they would have to raise premiums for 2018 by an average of 19 percent, according a projection by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

The possibility doesn’t appear to be hypothetical. On an earnings call Wednesday morning, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the nation’s second-biggest insurer and largest player on the health insurance exchanges, said it expected to raise rates by 20 percent ― or maybe pull out of markets altogether ― if CSR funding stopped.

That’s why the insurance lobby, other health care interest groups and business organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have made maintaining this funding a key priority.

Trump repeatedly has threatened to allow the Obamacare insurance markets to wither under his watch either through inaction or by halting federal payments to health insurance companies. He’s made the threats both before and after last month’s collapse of the House Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act and enact a measure that would cover 24 million fewer people.

Trump’s odd gambit is that voters will blame Democrats ― the party that enacted the Affordable Care Act ― rather than Republicans ― the party that controls the entire federal government now ― for the fallout from his actions. Polls have repeatedly indicated the opposite ― that voters will hold Trump and the Republicans responsible for what happens to health insurance.

But amid House Republican indecision about health care reform overall and the messy process of keeping the federal government from shutting down despite GOP control of Congress and the White House, Mulvaney’s and Ryan’s statements indicate that threat could become a reality soon.

Cost-sharing reduction payments have been a critical part of the Affordable Care Act since its benefits took effect in 2014, not a post-facto provision added to the law to “bail out” insurance companies as Mulvaney implied.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the poorest enrollees into private health plans purchased through the exchanges receive two forms of assistance. The first are the tax credits that reduce monthly insurance premiums, which are available to people who earn up to four times the federal poverty level, or $48,240 a year for a single person. Those whose incomes are below 250 percent of poverty, or $30,150 for a single person also are eligible for cost-sharing reductions that make out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and co-payments lower, as well.

Health insurance companies are required by the law to reduce these out-of-pocket costs for qualified customers, and then the federal government is obliged to reimburse them for the lost money. Insurers would still have to cut cost-sharing for enrollees even if the government payments weren’t made, and absorb the losses that would result.

The reason the money may stop flowing and that Trump has the authority to unilaterally end them stems from a 2014 lawsuit House Republicans filed against former President Barack Obama’s administration. The House GOP argued that Obama unlawfully made these payments without Congress authorizing the spending.

While the Affordable Care Act sets out the obligations on insurers to provide lower cost-sharing to eligible customers and the process by which the government pays them back, Republicans maintain Congress still needs to appropriate the actual dollars.

Last year, a federal judge ruled for the GOP, prompting the Obama administration to appeal. The judge agreed to stay the decision, allowing the federal government to continue making payments as the case works its way up through the courts.

When Trump became president, his administration became the defendant in the case. The Trump administration and House Republicans obtained delays from the appeals court while they decided how to proceed.

Like Obama, Trump has continued to make the payments in the meantime, but has always had the power to end them at any point. That point may come next month. Congress could have appropriated the funding earlier and resolved the dispute in that fashion. At several points in the last few weeks, prominent Republicans indicated they were inclined to go along ― perhaps as part of the spending bill that Democrats and Republicans are now negotiating.

But Ryan made clear Wednesday that’s not currently on the table, as far as he’s concerned.

Matt Fuller contributed reporting.Politics hurt too much? Sign up for HuffPost Hill, a humorous evening roundup featuring scoops
from HuffPost’s reporting team and juicy miscellanea from around the web.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 3 hours ago.
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​Hyde Park boy with rare disease wins appeal, will receive Biogen drug

April 26, 2017, 11:53 am
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Doug Hansen of Hyde Park said he has won his appeal of a coverage decision by Neighborhood Health Plan, overturning the health insurance company's refusal to pay for an expensive new drug by Biogen to treat his 11-year-old son, Tyler. Tyler Hansen has spinal muscular atrophy, a very rare disease that that reduces ability to control voluntary muscle movement. The first-ever drug to treat the disease, called Spinraza and marketed by Cambridge-based Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB), was just approved by the Food… Reported by bizjournals 4 hours ago.
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House GOP Health Insurance Bill Gains New Life

April 26, 2017, 12:58 pm
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House Republicans’ stalled effort to pass a bill replacing large parts of the Affordable Care Act sputtered back to life Wednesday, as conservatives who had opposed the legislation said a new amendment was winning them over. Reported by Wall Street Journal 3 hours ago.
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National Drug Take-Back Day in the Capital Region with Healthy Capital District Initiative

April 26, 2017, 1:14 pm
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Healthy Capital District Initiative has outlined a collection Sites in Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties accepting expired or unused prescription drugs.

(PRWEB) April 26, 2017

WHAT:
The Capital Region’s six counties are participating in National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday, April 29, 2017. The National Take-Back Initiative from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) occurs every year on the last Saturday in April. State and local police departments, as well as county sheriff's offices, administer the collection sites according to the DEA.

WHERE:
Anyone who has unused or expired prescription and over-the-counter     medications can access disposal sites at 38 different locations throughout the Capital region. Collection sites in every county are listed on https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/.

WHEN:
The disposal sites are open on Saturday, April 29, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time.

WHY:
“Drug Take-Back Day provides a safe, responsible way to dispose of our expired and unused prescription drugs while protecting our environment. Especially in the face of our opioid epidemic, everyone can help by cleaning out their medicine cabinets, and prevent prescription drugs from getting into the wrong hands,” explains Catherine S. Duncan, BSN, RN, Director of Public Health, Saratoga County Public Health Services.

The National Take-Back Initiative is an opportunity for local communities to prevent drug abuse, reduce drug-related poisonings, and take an active role in the Region’s fight against the opioid epidemic. People can rid their homes of expired prescription and over-the-counter medications which can be misused or unlawfully distributed to others. The Opioid epidemic in the Capital Region has seen a three-fold increase in opioid overdose deaths between 2014 and 2015.

Amanda, 31, a young mother recounts how her addiction began with the misuse of prescription drugs for her depression and anxiety. Her prescription opiate addiction resulted in heroin abuse and multiple overdoses. Amanda states “In the past five years; I have watched friends and people I have traveled with die. My best friend and all those people died from overdosing one time.”

The increase in drug overdose deaths, including opioid overdose deaths has catapulted the local health departments and hospitals in the Capital Region to band together with other community organizations to strengthen prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. This growing epidemic is a top priority in their Community Health Assessment and Health Improvement Plan, and they are leading multisector collaborations and innovative approaches to intervene in this public health crisis.

They ask for the public’s help disposing of unused prescription drugs to reduce access to potentially addictive prescriptions and to protect the water supply from improper disposal down a drain or in a landfill.· ALBANY COUNTY -

WATERVLIET POLICE DEPARTMENT
2-15TH STREET
WATERVLIET NY, 12189

ALBANY COUNTY SHERIFF
58 VERDA AVENUE
CLARKSVILLE NY, 12041

CVS PHARMACY
885 CENTRAL AVE.
ALBANY NY, 12205

ALBANY POLICE DEPT. SOUTH STATION
126 ARCH STREET
ALBANY NY, 12202

COLONIE POLICE DEPARTMENT
312 WOLF ROAD
LATHAM NY, 12110

PUBLIC LIBRARY - AUXILIARY PARKING LOT
2228 WESTERN AVENUE
GUILDERLAND NY, 12084

ALBANY COLLEGE OF PHARMACY - CAR PORT (DRIVE UP DROP OFF)
106 NEW SCOTLAND AVE.
ALBANY NY, 12208

NEW YORK STATE POLICE
760 TROY-SCHENECTADY ROAD,
LATHAM NY, 122110

BETHLEHEM TOWN PARK - FRONT PARKING LOT
249 ELM AVE.
DELMAR NY, 12054

· COLUMBIA COUNTY -

CHATHAM PD
77 MAIN STREET
CHATHAM NY, 12037

HILLSDALE SUB STATION
2684 STATE ROUTE 23
HILLSDALE NY, 12529

COLUMBIA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
85 INDUSTRIAL TRACT
HUDSON NY, 12534

HUDSON CITY PD
427 WARREN STREET
HUDSON NY, 12534

· GREENE COUNTY -

TOWN OF HUNTER PD
5748 STATE RT. 23A
TANNERSVILLE NY, 12485

COXSACKIE POLICE DEPARTMENT
119 MANSION STREET
COXSACKIE NY, 12051

CVS HANNAFORD PLAZA
223 MAIN STREET
CAIRO NY, 12413

WINDHAM PHARMACY
61 STATE ROAD 296
WINDHAM NY, 12496

· RENSSELAER COUNTY -

EAST GREENBUSH POLICE DEPARTMENT
225 COLUMBIA TURNPIKE
RENSSELAER NY, 12144

NORTH END FIRE STATION
2 ST. FRANCIS PLACE
RENSSELAER NY, 12144

POLICE DEPARTMENT
1797 COLUMBIA TURNPIKE
CASTLETON NY, 12033

POLICE DEPARTMENT
29 MAIN STREET
HOOSICK FALLS NY, 12090

TROY POLICE DEPARTMENT
55 STATE STREET
TROY NY, 12180

TOWN OF SCHODACK PD
1797 COLUMBIA TURNPIKE
CASTLETON NY, 12033

WEST SAND LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
3697 RT. 43
WEST SAND LAKE NY, 12196

· SARATOGA COUNTY -

CVS PHARMACY PARKING LOT
12 SOUTH CENTRAL AVENUE
MECHANICVILLE NY, 12118

SARATOGA HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPT. PARKING LOT
211 CHURCH STREET
SARATOGA SPRINGS NY, 12866

SARATOGA SPRINGS POLICE DEPARTMENT - BEHIND CITY HALL
474 BROADWAY
SARATOGA SPRINGS NY, 12866

BALLSTON SPA POLICE DEPARTMENT
30 BATH STREET
BALLSTON SPA NY, 12020

MOREAU EMERGENCY SQUAD
1583 ROUTE 9,
MOREAU NY, 12866

SP CLIFTON PARK PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING
5 MUNICIPAL PLAZA STE 1STATE ROUTE 146
CLIFTON PARK NY, 12065

CLIFTON PARK-HALFMOON EMERGENCY SQUAD
15 CROSSING BLVD.
CLIFTON PARK NY, 12065

MOREAU COMMUNITY CENTER
144 MAIN STREET
SOUTH GLENS FALLS NY, 12803

· SCHENECTADY COUNTY -

SCHENECTADY POLICE DEPARTMENT
531 LIBERTY ST.
SCHENECTADY NY, 12305

GLENVILLE MUNICIPAL CENTER POLICE ENTRANCE
18 GLENRIDGE RD.
GLENVILLE NY, 12302

SCOTIA POLICE DEPARTMENT
4 NORTH TEN BROECK STREET
SCOTIA NY, 12302

SCHENECTADY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE SUB STATION
130 PRINCETOWN PLAZA
SCHENECTADY NY, 12306

ROTTERDAM PD
101 PRINCETOWN ROAD
ROTTERDAM NY, 12306

NISKAYUNA TOWN HALL
1 NISKAYUNA CIRLCE
NISKAYUNA NY, 12309

For more information, or to arrange interviews at a different time, please contact Kevin Jobin-Davis, Ph.D. (518) 486-8400.

####

Healthy Capital District Initiative (HCDI) is an incorporated non-profit that builds healthier communities by engaging a broad range of organizations to identify public health priorities and develop coordinated, evidence-based strategies to improve health. HCDI serves the counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga, Columbia, and Greene.

Founded in 1997, HCDI is a collaborative venture of the hospitals, health insurers, county health departments, federally qualified health centers, and community-based organizations in the region. Other HCDI initiatives include assisting residents with applications for public health insurance or programs that subsidize the cost of care; providing preventative oral health services to children in schools serving primarily low-income youth; and the asthma coalition of the capital region. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.
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Trump to Dems: Obamacare Subsidies Will Be Approved

April 26, 2017, 3:32 pm
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The Trump administration will continue to pay subsidies to health insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act, The Hill reports. Reported by Newsmax 14 minutes ago.
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Conservatives back revised health bill, GOP moderates balk

April 26, 2017, 2:25 pm
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The moribund Republican health care bill received a jolt of life Wednesday when the conservative House Freedom Caucus endorsed a revised version of the measure. The embrace by the hard-line Freedom Caucus supplied fresh votes and momentum for GOP leaders, who also lined up behind the plan and are eager to grab a legislative victory for themselves and President Donald Trump. Conservatives embraced the revisions as a way to lower people's health care expenses, but moderates saw them as diminishing coverage because insurers could make policies for their most ill — and expensive — customers too expensive for them to afford. In a statement, the Freedom Caucus said while the new package "still does not fully repeal Obamacare, we are prepared to support it to keep our promise to the American people to lower health care costs." The legislation does things they oppose, including cutting the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor and providing less generous federal subsidies to help people buy coverage than under Obama's law. Reported by SeattlePI.com 1 hour ago.
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New House Health Repeal Bill Is Already Losing The Senate

April 26, 2017, 3:18 pm
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WASHINGTON ― While House Republicans have reanimated their push to repeal the Affordable Care Act by crafting a plan to appease conservatives, Senate moderates on Wednesday were already expressing serious doubts about the new proposal.

The new idea that has won praise from members of the House Freedom Caucus involves allowing states to let insurers ignore essential health benefits guaranteed under Obamacare, as well as protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Most Republicans in the Senate have said they want to keep Obamacare’s popular pre-existing condition rules. But perhaps more importantly, a half-dozen moderates were already on record opposing the earlier, less-extreme repeal bill that failed to get a vote in the House.

One key concern of theirs was cuts to Obamacare’s expanded Medicaid payments that have helped millions of Americans get health insurance.

The new GOP House bill keeps those cuts.

The senators who were opposed before did not issue outright rejections of the new scheme, but made clear they do not think the House bill will pass in the Senate.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who sponsored his own plan with moderate Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins, praised the House for creating “movement” toward some kind of common ground. But he also said it was the wrong approach.

“If we’re going to lower premiums, and that’s one of the president’s pledges, you have to restore the law of big numbers, which is to say that insurance companies have to know that the individual market is just not old and sick,” Cassidy told reporters, pointing to Congressional Budget Office estimates that younger, healthier people would flee insurance markets if not mandated to buy coverage.

The CBO estimated that 24 million people would lose or drop coverage under the previous House plan, while premiums would spike, at least initially.

“The CBO is saying that we would lose so many young people from the pool, it probably means that’s the reason premiums go up 20 percent,” Cassidy said.

Collins did not immediately discuss her concerns, but offered a firm “yes” when asked if she was concerned about health care issues, including potential payment cuts by the administration this year. (Those reductions were later taken off the table.)

Collins also suggested she was likely to agree with Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), a moderate from outside Philadelphia who opposes the House plan.

The repeal bill can only lose two Republicans and still pass the Senate. The Cassidy and Collins alternative measure has four other Republican co-sponsors.

Cassidy suggested that the solution may be for the House and Senate to pass their separate versions, then have the White House work with both chambers to reconcile the differences. He was not able to explain how the Trump administration could actually accomplish this after failing to walk the tightrope between moderates and conservatives in the House, though Cassidy insisted it would be possible.

Beyond the opposition from moderates in the Senate, the revived House bill could also face challenges from conservative senators. 

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told reporters the government shouldn’t be in the business of paying insurance companies at all.

“My reaction in general is I think the Freedom Caucus has done a good job trying to make the bill less bad,” Paul said before getting to his caveat. “For me, it’s a big stumbling block still that there’s taxpayer money that’s being given to insurance companies. And I’m just not in favor of taxpayer money going to insurance companies.”

Other Republicans whose previously expressed concerns would not be solved by the new House bill include Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Cory Gardner (Colo.).

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 28 minutes ago.
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Trump Tax Plan Empowers Countless More Americans To Bribe An Underwhelming Child Into College

April 26, 2017, 3:44 pm
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*Like what you read below? **Sign up for HUFFPOST HILL** and get a cheeky dose of political news every evening! *

The entire Senate took coach buses over to the White House, and even money says Ted Cruz was the only person to raise his hand when the driver asked if anyone wanted to watch the movie. Ivanka Trump is starting up her own Clinton Foundation, but don’t expect your Facebook feed to fill up with posts from your aunt about how Ivanka is hiding a Parkinson’s diagnosis or runs a child sex ring in a pizzeria. And until this week, the three things we were most surprised hadn’t materialized were smartphones with built-in projectors, a domestic fast-casual chain that sells poutine and a cascade of racial discrimination allegations against Fox News. Well, we can cross one off our list. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, April 26th, 2017:

*CONGRATULATIONS TO RICH PEOPLE - *Look, it was either expanding Medicaid or making sure that Harvard-Westlake’s alumni network had enough left over to endow a new standalone lacrosse field. Zach Carter: “President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers on Wednesday proposed trillions of dollars in tax cuts for millionaires under a plan billed as the biggest tax reform in over 30 years…. *They did insist on three major perks for the wealthy, however ― reducing the tax rate on stocks, bonds and real estate investments; eliminating inheritance taxes for millionaire heirs and heiresses; and bringing down the tax rate on the largest corporations to less than half of what it is now*. The inheritance tax ― disparaged by conservatives as a ‘death tax’ ― only applies to millionaires. Magnates must will at least $5.45 million to their heirs ($10.9 million for couples) to qualify for the tax. Heirs and heiresses pay an average rate of 16.6 percent on these inheritances, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, generating about $275 billion for the government over 10 years.” [HuffPost]

*HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS THIRSTY FOR MORE UNINSURED - *But some “moderate” Republicans don’t want people to know they made them uninsured, so there’s an impasse. Matt Fuller: “House Republicans appear closer than ever to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, after *the House Freedom Caucus formally endorsed a revised version of the GOP health care bill and moderates looked to be largely going along with the changes. It’s still a real question whether Republicans have the votes.* There were almost enough moderates publicly opposing the health care bill before an amendment worked out between co-chairman of the moderate Tuesday Group Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) and Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) dragged the legislation even further to the right. But those changes, which would significantly undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions, have won over a large swath of conservatives.” [HuffPost]

*This is still the bill everyone hated last month*, only it’s even worse for sick people. “Apparently yanking away the funds that allow millions of people to get health insurance isn’t enough for some House Republicans. Now they also want to gut the Affordable Care Act’s protection for people with pre-existing conditions.” [HuffPost’s Jonathan Cohn]

*Also, the Senate exists.* “While House Republicans have reanimated their push to repeal the Affordable Care Act by crafting a plan to appease conservatives, Senate moderates on Wednesday were already expressing serious doubts about the new proposal.” [HuffPost’s Michael McAuliff]

*TRUMP’S LATEST EMPTY THREAT: BLOWING UP THE INSURANCE MARKET -* He won’t do it...for the time being. Jeffrey Young and Jonathan Cohn: “The White House walked back its threat Wednesday to explode the Obamacare market by halting crucial payments to health insurance companies, just hours after signaling it might take that drastic step within weeks…. *The consequences of halting these payments to health insurance companies would be devastating for people who buy coverage on their own, rather than through employers. Insurers would face higher costs leading to bigger premium hikes, and in many states could respond by cancelling coverage for the rest of 2017.* The administration’s sudden shift marks the latest example of President Donald Trump issuing a threat, and then withdrawing it when it doesn’t result in the deal he wanted.” [HuffPost]

*BERNIE BROS SUDDENLY REALIZE THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HILLARY AND TRUMP - *RIP to your CoD multiplayer parties, brahs. David Shepardson: “*The head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday proposed overturning the landmark 2015 Obama-era net neutrality rules that prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to certain internet services over others*. A plan to reverse the rules approved by the FCC under Democratic President Barack Obama is expected to set off a fight over the future of the internet regulation. Ajit Pai, who was named chair of the FCC by President Donald Trump in January, said at a speech in Washington he was aiming to reverse rules that gave the government greater regulatory powers over internet service providers, arguing they cost jobs and depressed investment.” [Reuters]

*TRUMP LOOKING TO LEAVE NAFTA - *Congratulations to the Republican Party on staying true to its commitment to free markets. Tara Palmeri, Adam Behsudi and Seung Min Kim: “*The Trump administration is considering an executive order on withdrawing the U.S. from NAFTA* — and initial reaction on Capitol Hill to the planned move has been mostly negative. A draft order has been submitted for final stages of review and could be unveiled late this week or early next, two White House officials told POLITICO. The effort, which still could change in coming days as more officials weigh in, would indicate the administration’s intent to withdraw from the sweeping Clinton-era pact by triggering the timeline set forth in the deal… *The approach appears designed to extract better terms from Canada and Mexico*. But it raises the possibility the Trump administration could walk away from one of the largest trade deals on the planet.” [Politico]

*TRUMP’S WALL IS MAYBE HIS WORST DEAL YET - *And, again, we’re talking about a guy who sold steaks in an electronics catalog. S.V. Date: “On Day One as president, candidate Donald Trump promised last year, he would start working on his ‘great wall’ along the southern border. It would be 35 feet tall ― at least. It would be 1,000 miles long, and extend deep enough underground to prevent Mexicans from tunneling beneath it. And it would be impenetrable: ‘It’s going to be made of hardened concrete, and it’s going to be made of rebar. That’s steel,’ he explained to a Virginia audience.... *Early specifications call for only an 18-foot wall, although 30 feet is preferable. The material is unspecified, and the Cabinet member in charge of building it has said in some places it might be more a series of sensors than an actual structure. As to who will pay for it, it turns out Mexico is not particularly interested in doing that,* leaving U.S. taxpayers on the hook ― if and when work actually starts. Except that Congress isn’t that eager to spend tens of billions of dollars for Trump’s project either.” [HuffPost]

*Like HuffPost Hill? Then order Eliot’s book*, The Beltway Bible: A Totally Serious A-Z Guide To Our No-Good, Corrupt, Incompetent, Terrible, Depressing, and Sometimes Hilarious Government

Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It’s free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to eliot@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill

*TRUMP LOOKING TO GUT 9TH CIRCUIT - *Forget separation of powers, we could use some separation of pouters, amirite? Amirite?? Sarah Westwood: “President Trump said Wednesday that he has ‘absolutely’ considered proposals that would split up the 9th Circuit, where judges have blocked two of his executive actions. ‘Absolutely, I have,’ Trump said of considering 9th circuit breakup proposals during a far-ranging interview with the Washington Examiner at the White House on Wednesday. ‘There are many people that want to break up the 9th Circuit. It’s outrageous.’ …  *His comments came one day after U.S. District Judge William Orrick **temporarily blocked** Trump’s efforts to withhold funds from any municipality that refuses to cooperate with immigration enforcement officers*.” [Washington Examiner]

*THE TRUMPS ARE DOING *LITERALLY* EVERYTHING THEY RAILED AGAINST DURING THE CAMPAIGN - *We cannot wait for Chris Cillizza to weigh in on this one. Paul Blumenthal: “*Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and White House adviser, plans to start a fund to help female entrepreneurs worldwide, using money from private-sector donors and foreign governments*. According to Axios, the first to report the first daughter’s plan, the fund will be run by the World Bank. ‘Canadians, Germans and a few Middle Eastern countries have already made quiet commitments, as have several corporations,’ Axios previously reported. The fund will provide ‘working and growth capital to small- and medium-sized enterprises.’  … [T]he Ivanka Trump-World Bank fund sounds like it will mimic the work of a private organization that got a lot of (bad) publicity in 2016: the Clinton Foundation…. The foundation was seen as a major conflict of interest for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, whose critics claimed her decisions as secretary of state benefitted foundation donors.” [HuffPost]

@Farenthold: White House now says @IvankaTrump will have no major role in fund that @axios mentioned, won’t raise $ or control its output. Updating...

Paul Blumenthal notes that the level of nepotism and corruption exhibited by the Trump family is typically found in third-world countries.

*THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GO ROUND AND ROUND (TO OUR HYPERSENSITIVE NORTH KOREA BRIEFING) - *Bet you Orrin Hatch pulled the power move where he went to the back row with 4 contiguous seats and laid down like a boss. Matthew Pennington and Vivian Salama: “The Trump administration hosted senators for an extraordinary White House briefing Wednesday at a perilous moment with North Korea, marked by nuclear threats from the unpredictable nation and stern talk of military action, if necessary, from the United States.* All 100 senators were invited and taken in buses for the unprecedented, classified briefing. President Trump’s secretary of State, Defense secretary, top general and national intelligence director were to outline for them North Korea’s escalating nuclear capabilities* and U.S. response options, officials said. The briefing team was to meet later with House members in the Capitol.” [AP]

*FOX NEWS ANCHOR ALLEGES DISCRIMINATION AT NETWORK - *We Report. You Get Passed Over For A Promotion. Michael Calderone: “Fox News veteran Kelly Wright, the only black man with an anchor position at the network, on Wednesday emotionally described being demeaned, marginalized, and prevented from advancing in his career due to racial bias.... Wright was speaking out, he said, because Fox News leadership had ‘lost their way’ and ‘failed to be fair and balanced to all of our employees regardless of race, gender, faith, creed, or color.’ ... *Wright is the most high-profile employee of color to join a growing group of current and former Fox News staffers alleging racial discrimination inside the company*. On Tuesday, 11 current and former employees filed a class action suit against the network, parent company 21st Century Fox, Fox News general counsel Dianne Brandi, and former Fox News comptroller Judith Slater.” [HuffPost]

Make sure you read Jason Fagone’s powerful Highline piece on how trauma surgeons bear witness to America’s gun violence epidemic.

*WHEN YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR METRICS ANYMORE - *Sarah Emerson: “[I]n a blog post today, The Wilderness Society…a national conservation nonprofit, noticed something strange. As of March this year, the *BLM was no longer posting images of rivers, forests, deserts, and mountains. Instead, its Flickr page now exclusively shares portraits of oil wells*, mining pits, and construction — the kind of development that stands to devastate the very places the agency exists to protect.” [Motherboard]

*BECAUSE YOU’VE READ THIS FAR *- Here’s a beaver herding some cattle.

*TYPICAL BIG GOVERNMENT REPUBLICANS: WANTING TO CONTROL WHAT YOU EAT - *Joseph Erbentraut and Arthur Delaney: “According to a study released Wednesday by the Voice of the People, a nonpartisan polling group, and conducted by University of Maryland researchers, an overwhelming majority of American voters of both parties favor restricting SNAP benefits from being used to buy soda and candy, as well as incentivizing fruit and vegetable purchases and increasing the overall amount of SNAP benefits available. The study found that of the 7,000 voters polled, 76 percent of respondents agreed that SNAP benefits should not be used to buy candy. *For Republican respondents 85 percent approved of banning the sweets*, while 68 percent of Democrat respondents agreed.” [HuffPost]

*COMFORT FOOD*

- A country-by-country guide to personal space.

- Turns out there’s a universal poop constant.

- In case you’d ever wondered what a Starbucks location the size of a Nike Store would look like, now you know.

*TWITTERAMA*


They said if we voted for Hillary the president's daughter would shake down foreign leaders for donations and they were right.

— Tim Murphy (@timothypmurphy) April 26, 2017


little-known fact: “looks great” is another way of a journalist saying “i will never read your piece”

— maxwell (@maxwellstrachan) April 26, 2017


If Emmanuel Macron comes up with unique economic ideas for France will we call them Macroneconomics?

...

...

...

bye

— David Mack (@davidmackau) April 26, 2017

Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com)

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 3 minutes ago.
↧

Obama Explains Why He Accepted $400,000 For A Paid Speech On Wall Street

April 26, 2017, 4:36 pm
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Obama Explains Why He Accepted $400,000 For A Paid Speech On Wall Street There was some snickering two days ago when it emerged that as his first paid speech appearance, former president Barack Obama who - at least on paper was a determined crusader against the big banks - will receive $400,000 for roughly an hour of his time from, well, a bank or rather Cantor Fitzgerald.

Moments ago, Obama seemingly concerned by the public response the news has generated, decided to respond via his spokesman Eric Schultz, and explain why it is perfectly ok for the former president to collect a $400,000 from a bank. We won't comment suffice to note that in trying to explain why it is now ok for him to collect nearly half a million dollars from the hate banks, it is probably not a good idea to say the following: "*I'd just point out that in 2008, Barack Obama raised more money from Wall Street than any candidate in history.*"

Full statement from Obama spokesman Greg Sargent



As we announced months ago, President Obama will deliver speeches from time to time. Some of those speeches will be paid, some will be unpaid, and regardless of venue or sponsor, *President Obama will be true to his values, his vision, and his record. *

 

He recently accepted an invitation to speak at a health care conference in September, *because, as a President who successfully passed health insurance reform, it's an issue of great importance to him.* With regard to this or any speech great importance to him. *With regard to this or any speech involving Wall Street sponsors, I'd just point out that in 2008, Barack Obama raised more money from Wall Street than any candidate in history - and still went on to successfully pass and implement the toughest reforms on Wall Street since FDR.*

 

And while he'll continue to give speeches from time to time, he'll spend most of his time writing his book and, as he said in Chicago this week, *focusing his post-presidency work on training and elevating a new generation of political leaders in America.*



Source: Greg Sargent Reported by Zero Hedge 23 hours ago.
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