Free Republic

By punting the issue into 2025, Democrats hoped they could secure a permanent extension of Obamacare subsidies. That plan backfired.In response to the government shutdown hitting the one-month mark, an unnamed adviser to Donald Trump said that the president has “had it with these people [i.e., congressional Democrats], because he knows they’re playing politics.” He’s right — but the administration hasn’t articulated the half of it.Democrats have shut down the government due to their demands that Republicans extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire on Dec. 31. Such a demand would give a bailout to insurance companies totaling $350 billion...

Next week my firm will hold its annual health insurance information meeting. The news won’t be good. Premiums are expected to increase 10-15% after increasing a similar amount last year. If only my 401(k) could grow like that! The bottom line is that my paycheck will become smaller and my health care costs will become larger. My wife and I have also spent most of this year scurrying through the endless maze of our byzantine and befuddling health care system. Our journey began when my wife’s father had a stroke in April… Over the past seven months we have had...

Voters who are 65 or older are especially passionate about health care – nearly all say access to quality, affordable health care is important to their vote (97%). Nine in 10 voters ages 50 to 64 say the same (90%). Eighty-three percent of voters 50 to 64 and 92% of likely voters 65 and older say a candidate’s stance on improving the response plan for natural disasters is important to their vote. The state’s youngest and oldest voters consider a candidate’s position on housing affordability more important to their vote than those in between. Ninety-two percent of voters ages 18...

"When I talk about weak Republican men, I am pretty much talking oftentimes about the leadership in the House and Senate, and they are just not getting our agenda done," she said. In recent weeks, Greene has pushed for her own party to share an alternative plan to replace the current Affordable Care Act, specifically calling out House Speaker Mike Johnson. "Republicans never fixed it … And then the ACA tax credits were passed in 2021 … and Republicans never made a plan for that," Greene said. She criticized Johnson for keeping the House in recess, saying, "We should be...

The White House will launch a website on Monday night exposing criminal illegal aliens, including murderers, rapists, and burglars, who have received taxpayer-funded Medicaid benefits, Breitbart News has learned. The website features mugshots and photos of dozens of illegal aliens convicted of brutal crimes, undercutting Democrat claims that illegal aliens have not received healthcare benefits. The top of the page chronicles the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on illegal aliens convicted of crimes who have received Medicaid benefits, as well as Democrats’ efforts to restore Medicaid benefits to illegal aliens and noncitizens:

While the shutdown is needless, the Democrats are right to be concerned about healthcare cost coverage. MEDICAID EXPANSION FAIRNESS What I’m thinking of is to slightly and generally increase the state Medicaid expansion share to 5% plus the highest rate of state income tax. That would make Medicaid expansion cheaper for no income tax red states like Florida and Texas, and fairer. Right now, California pays for Medicaid expansion at 10% and rakes in 13% income tax from doctors. To help finance likely Medicaid expansion to states like Texas and Florida, the state Medicaid shares (traditional & expansion) would increase...

David Delfiner and Lisa Parsons received a shocking letter from their health insurance provider when they checked their mail last week. Their monthly health insurance cost will increase from $350 a month this year to $2,221 starting in 2026

Stacy Cox used one word repeatedly as she described how she felt after learning her ACA premium could jump over 300% without the enhanced tax credits: "devastating." "I don't know if I've ever cried opening a letter from an insurance or before, but it happened this time," she told ABC News. Cox's premium this year has been $495.32 for coverage for her and her husband. Without the credit in 2026, she was informed that it's increasing to $2,168.68. "It's devastating because we can't afford that," she said. "Just that bill right there, that's more than our mortgage, our insurance, most...

Democrats, especially Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, continually advocate for single-payer (taxpayer-funded) health care, proclaiming that health care is a human right. No one wants to see people suffer from untreated ailments, and it's indisputable that health care costs are skyrocketing. But conservatives argue that relief lies in free-market principles prioritizing innovation, choice, and efficiency. In contrast, proponents of socialized medicine -- often cloaked as "Medicare for All" -- insist it will deliver affordable, universal coverage. History and data paint a far grimmer picture: ballooning costs, endless wait times, rationed care, and needless suffering.Our own Medicaid program and failed experiments...

California Governor Gavin Newsom is giving Planned Parenthood another $140 million in taxpayer money, to show support for the abortion corporation and keep its doors open. But even this amount of money may not guarantee that. Key Takeaways: * Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he will funnel another $140 million in taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood. * The promise of further financial support is in response to the Congressional defunding of abortion providers that qualify as "prohibited entities" of federal Medicaid dollars for one year. * Planned Parenthood is asking supporters for more donations as it announces more facility closures; however,...

Alice Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune and the world's wealthiest woman, is on a mission to reimagine medical education with an innovative new school in Arkansas that is welcoming its inaugural class tuition-free. The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art technology but the unique curriculum also embraces healing through the arts and humanity.

The Trump administration has released a preview of the available plans sold through Obamacare marketplaces in 30 states, giving Americans who buy their own health insurance a first look at just how much prices would go up.Insurers have increased rates significantly for next year — an average of about 30 percent in the states where the federal government manages markets, and an average of 17 percent in states that run their own markets, according to a new analysis from KFF, the health research group.

A new analysis published by the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) found that out-of-pocket premium payments will more than double if ObamaCare’s enhanced premium tax credits expire. According to the CBPP’s projections, annual out-of-pocket premium payments would more than double, exceeding $1,000 on average if the credits aren’t extended. Open enrollment for Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans begins this Saturday. “Since Congress has not acted sooner and many enrollees likely have already experienced sticker shock and decided not to enroll, it should also extend the open enrollment period (scheduled to end January 15 in most states)...

The rates, pricing and other data for 2026 Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance plans were publicly posted on the federal Healthcare.gov marketplace on Wednesday, just three days ahead of the start of open enrollment. The health research nonprofit KFF said the average increase in premiums for ACA plans will be 26 percent next year, based on data for “benchmark” silver plans, which are the midtier plans in each region that most people purchase and are used to set the subsidy amounts. But KFF found the amount that people pay for coverage is set to rise 114 percent on average because...

"In Washington, D.C., the government shutdown is about to enter its fifth week. Negotiations remain at a standstill, the issue of healthcare funding for undocumented immigrants being one of the main sticking points between Democrats and Republicans. According to Washington Post reporter David Ovalle, it is a debate riddled with misleading claims. Ovalle joins the show." 17 min. video at link.

Will it be possible to treat severe kidney inflammation with fewer drugs in the future? A new study gives cause for hope. The researchers show that even low, repeated doses of steroids could be enough to stop inflammation in particularly aggressive crescentic glomerulonephritis (cGN). The findings could fundamentally change the treatment of many patients—and significantly reduce side effects. cGN is one of the most dangerous forms of kidney inflammation. Without treatment, it can lead to terminal kidney failure within a few weeks. The standard therapy to date consists of high doses of glucocorticoids (steroids), which strongly suppress the immune system....

The government shutdown has focused debate on the vast sum ($136 billion in 2025, as projected by the Congressional Budget Office) that the federal government spends to annually subsidize continually skyrocketing Obamacare health insurance premiums. The Wall Street Journal reports that regardless of how that fiscal tug-of- war turns out, health insurance premiums paid by Americans are expected to rise another 8% or 9% next year.The mega-health insurers are leading the charge for more subsidies because this money lands right in their pockets. Their profits and stock values have been soaring while the rest of us struggle to pay the...

As Maricopa County voters begin casting ballots in the off-year election, Supervisor Debbie Lesko is raising concerns about Proposition 409 — a $898 million bond proposal to fund major upgrades for Valleywise Health, the county’s public hospital system. “I’m not a fan of Prop. 409, the Valleywise Health ballot measure,” Lesko wrote on X. “This is a new tax in addition to their existing tax. If this passes, we’ll be paying for two Valleywise bonds on our property taxes.”

It’s not just women that Cartel Medicine feeds on, although it does prefer them. Men are also meat for the grinder, especially when their privates are involved. The screening hoax we witnessed with mammograms has a counterpart with prostates and the PSA test. The predation here is especially synergistic as the maiming and destruction caused by prostate interventions feed two sub-Cartels: those of erectile dysfunction and incontinence. The adult diaper business is thriving because of this butchery. Urologists, not wanting to be left behind by pediatricians, psychiatrists, cardiologists, dermatologists and dentists have their own cozy racket. With thanks to Richard...

It turns out that more peanut exposure earlier on means fewer allergy cases later. Health experts suggested in years past that mothers with familial predispositions to developing allergies should avoid peanut consumption during pregnancy and breastfeeding and that parents should avoid giving their children peanut products and other common allergens before the age of 3. According to a National Institutes of Health-backed study published on Monday in the American Academy of Pediatrics' medical journal, Pediatrics, the strategy of avoidance appears to have been the wrong approach. Background After observing the prevalence of peanut allergy among children in Western countries double...