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According to the latest data from the West Health–Gallup Affordability Index, only 49% of U.S. adults are able to afford quality care and have been able to pay for healthcare visits and prescriptions in recent months, marking a five-year low in healthcare affordability. The number of people able to afford quality healthcare has been on a steady decline since 2022, when affordability was the highest. In 2025, 2.8 million more Americans reported inability to afford healthcare. “Healthcare affordability is moving in the wrong direction,” West Health Institute chief medical officer, Zia Agha, MD, told Healio. “Notably, financial barriers are increasing...

Middle-income Americans straining to pay for Affordable Care Act health insurance are unlikely to get relief next year, according to a new analysis that shows insurers in the marketplace are proposing a second straight year of double-digit premium hikes. Across the 77 insurers in the ACA program that have submitted rate filings that are publicly available, the median proposed premium increase for 2027 is 14%, according to Wednesday’s analysis from the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. The insurers cited mounting healthcare costs, federal regulatory changes and the recent expiration of pandemic-era enhanced subsidies as the biggest factors driving premiums higher. The...

EXCLUSIVE: As part of an anti-fraud crackdown that spans the entirety of the federal government, the Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) uncovered millions of alleged fraudsters on the Affordable Care Act rolls, according to a report obtained by Fox News Digital. A Biden-era spike in Obamacare enrollments led to a probe into the veracity of millions of claims, a Trump administration official confirmed. At the beginning of Biden's term, there were 10 million people enrolled in the government's healthcare program, but that number drastically skyrocketed to 22 million at its 2024 peak. Now, the Trump administration...

🚨 HOLY SMOKES: Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Oz have just announced OVER *ONE MILLION* PEOPLE are on Obamacare with NO Social Security number… 🤯🤯 It’s one big racket! Shut it down! “They submit applications for fake people and enroll stolen identities all to collect millions of dollars in fees from insurance companies for selling plans they never legitimately sold!” “The Obamacare marketplace is plagued by fraud, in large part because the Biden administration dismantled basic program integrity guardrails.” “More than a million people enrolled in Obamacare without social security numbers on file. That is a glaring warning...

Evidence shows that John Roberts, chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, was “hacked” by a Deep State surveillance operation overseen by Obama administration CIA director John Brennan and Obama director of national intelligence James Clapper. Roberts, the Bush appointee who made the decisive vote to uphold the constitutionality of Obamacare before the 2012 election, was allegedly the victim of the same Deep State surveillance program that spied on President Donald Trump. Tapes released by Federal Judge G. Murray Snow — preserved on a Whistleblower Soundcloud page — show real estate billionaire Timothy Blixseth explaining Brennan and Clapper’s surveillance...

Enrollment in the Affordable Care Act marketplace is projected to fall by nearly 5 million people this year as rising premiums and higher deductibles force many Americans to reconsider whether they can still afford health insurance coverage, according to a new analysis from healthcare nonprofit KFF.The report estimates ACA enrollment could decline from 22.3 million participants in 2025 to roughly 17.5 million this year, representing a drop of more than 20 percent.At the same time, Americans who remain enrolled are paying substantially more out of pocket. According to the analysis, average deductibles have climbed by more than $1,000, while monthly...

Have you observed what is happening with medical insurance in the United States? There is an upheaval taking place. You might be experiencing it yourself.The Wakely Consulting Group has taken upon itself to track trends in the medical insurance market, both pricing and participation.Their latest report has documented an ongoing and profound shift, one so dramatic that it portends something truly meaningful for the future.Lacking serious reform of the system from Congress, it seems that consumers are taking matters into their own hands.Congress declined to extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) starting in January. Consumers have examined their...

The Obamacare marketplace is reportedly facing significant upheaval following the expiration of enhanced federal subsidies. Cigna announced in late April that it will leave the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges in 2027, which could further shake up the individual marketplace. CVS’ Aetna ceased offering plans and overall enrollment has declined since Congress refused to renew ACA subsidies, The Hill reported. “Medical insurance has become unbearably expensive, and this is even before a single service is used,” Jeffrey Tucker, founder and president of the Brownstone Institute, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “For many people this truly makes no [sense].” “Crowdsourced...

Former Democrat Rep. Barney Frank has entered hospice care.

The UNC Sheps Center, which tracks rural hospital infrastructure in the United States, has documented 195 rural hospitals that have closed or converted to outpatient facilities since January 2005. Six are in Pennsylvania. Closures have far outpaced the opening of new rural hospitals during this period. As a physician who has trained in rural communities and a researcher who studies community well-being and public health, we see that every rural hospital closure exerts a domino effect on surrounding communities and residents. This can be difficult to quantify but manifests as lost jobs and economic decline, poorer health and a pervasive...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s push to revive expired enhanced Obamacare tax credits by contrasting their cost with Pentagon spending is colliding with fresh scrutiny of the Affordable Care Act, as policy experts warn the program is riddled with improper enrollments, fraud vulnerabilities and rising taxpayer costs. "We need to reform the ACA, not throw more taxpayer money at it," Brian Blase, president of the health policy research group Paragon Health Institute, said. He added that "government subsidies don’t make the coverage more affordable. They make it more expensive overall because you have to consider the taxpayer amount." Blase spoke...

Obamacare had problems even before it launched in 2014. Marketplace websites were glitchy during the open enrollment period, frustrating many would-be customers.Sweeping changes ushered in by the Affordable Care Act, the law creating Obamacare, all but guaranteed that premiums would increase—which they did by 23 percent in the program’s first year.Even so, public opinion swung in favor of Obamacare starting in 2017 and remains positive, according to KFF Health Tracking polls.More than 24 million people were insured through the program by 2025.And insurers learned to thrive under the new rules, more than doubling annual revenue to $1.1 trillion and consistently...

Through family, I heard about a couple in WI who started a small business and were planning to expand. Now, with their ACA premiums TRIPLED due to congressional inaction, they've had to scrap plans to expand & grow. I'm sure that scenario is repeating itself all over the U.S.

In its ongoing fight against identity politics in medicine, Do No Harm exposed the American Medical Association this week for content related to identity politics and diversity, equity and inclusion in its Continuing Medical Education courses. Do No Harm Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kurt Miceli told The Center Square: “The level of ideological bias documented in our report raises serious concerns about the integrity of these [Continuing Medical Education] offerings.” In order to maintain their license to practice medicine, medical professionals must continually keep up with their education – in varying degrees state by state – as explained by Do...

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a potential White House hopeful for 2028, said on Wednesday that he wants a mandatory retirement age of 75 for the president and people holding office in other branches of government. “You’re 75 years old: done,” Emanuel, a Democrat, said at a Center for American Progress event. “And that would be in the legislative branch, it’d be in the executive branch — including the Cabinet — and it’d also be in the Supreme Court, and all the federal courts.” Emanuel, 66, acknowledged that he would be affected by this proposal if he happens to be...

If you’re waiting for the administration to replace the Affordable Care Act, you should pray that you won’t need an ambulance. If you do call the 911 emergency services, then you’ll be waiting longer than you would have before President Obama’s signature healthcare reform was implemented. How much longer? On average, close to 20 percent more, according to new research from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Marketplace plans from the Affordable Care Act no longer feel very affordable to many people, because Congress did not extend a package of enhanced subsidies that expired at the end of 2025. Last week, the House did pass legislation to extend the expired subsidies, and negotiations have moved to the Senate. Without a deal, an estimated 4.8 million will go without coverage this year. But even without a health plan, people will still need medical care. Many, like the Sorys, have been thinking through their plan B to maintain their health. The Sorys both lost jobs in November, within days...

Why is my doctor worried about my mortgage payments? So I found myself wondering as I filled out a questionnaire before a recent primary-care visit. Along with the usual prompts about my health, I encountered a series of questions related to my financial situation. The form asked whether in the last 12 months I was unable to pay my mortgage or rent on time, and if I was “worried that my food would run out before I got the money to buy more.” These questions weren’t an attempt to gauge whether I would pay my medical bill; they were part...

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a remarkable rebuke of Republican leadership, the House passed legislation Thursday, 230-196, that would extend expired health care subsidies for those who get coverage through the Affordable Care Act as renegade GOP lawmakers joined essentially all Democrats in voting for the measure.

Democratic proposals to repair America’s broken healthcare system have reliably shown a slide towards healthcare-for-all. But for the first time since the modern healthcare system began, Republicans have what they say is an answer. "Democrats made health insurance illegal in the United States. You can't buy health insurance. All you can buy is a health care plan. We need to allow people who just want 'I got hit by a bus, or I got cancer' insurance to buy that, and they can say, 'I can take care of everything by myself.' We need to solve that health insurance problem. Democrats...