COVID-19 & Healthcare

AZ Court of Appeals revives GOP legislators’ challenge to Gov. Brewer’s Medicaid (AHCCCS) expansion

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Cartoon_08The real “Obamacare death panel” — 36 Arizona Tea-Publican legislators and their lawyers at the “Kochtopus” Death Star, The Goldwater Institute — in their quest to overturn Governor Jan Brewer’s Medicaid (AHCCCS) expansion plan to deny health care to tens of thousands of Arizonans who now have access to health care, were thrown a lifeline today by a panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals.

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Dealing blow to Brewer, appeals court says Medicaid expansion lawsuit can move forward:

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled today that a group of Republican lawmakers has standing to challenge the hospital assessment that funds Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion program.

The decision gives opponents the opportunity to argue that the law was unconstitutional because it didn’t garner a two-thirds vote in the Legislature.

The case now threatens what is arguably Brewer’s greatest achievement as governor. The assessment on hospitals, which pays for the state’s share of Medicaid expansion, is the lynchpin of the Brewer’s plan.

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‘ObamaCare’ is working: more good news

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“ObamaCare” is working in states where GOP governors and/or legislatures did not sabotage the Affordable Care Act by failing to establish a state-run insurance exchange and/or failed to enact expanded Medicaid coverage for its citizens , i.e., the Red State “coverage gap.” Credit: McClatchy

The Gallup Survey reports Uninsured Rate Drops More in States Embracing Health Law:

mcc_aca_coverage_gapThe uninsured rate among adults aged 18 and older in the states that have chosen to expand Medicaid and set up their own exchanges in the health insurance marketplace has declined significantly more this year than in the remaining states that have not done so. The uninsured rate, on average, declined 2.5 percentage points in the 21 states (plus the District of Columbia) that have implemented both of these measures, compared with a 0.8-point drop across the 29 states that have taken only one or neither of these actions.

As Gallup previously reported, the states that have chosen to expand Medicaid and set up their own healthcare exchanges had a lower average uninsured rate to begin with: 16.1% compared with 18.7% for the remaining states — a difference of 2.6 points. The already notable gap between the two groups of states widened in the first quarter to 4.3 points.

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Meet the GOP’s new class of jokers (Martha McSally makes an appearance)

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Katie McDonough, assistant editor for Salon, offers a scathing critique of the GOP’s new class of jokers: Meet the “rising stars” of the dumbest rebrand ever — Welcome to the lamest reinvention in modern history. Why these “young guns” are just as scary as the old male ones:

joker cardsTo answer the questions Andy Kroll raised in his Wednesday Mother Jones piece exposing New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez as a terrible shithead — yes, Martinez probably is the next Sarah Palin. And yes, Martinez is also, as Kroll points out, probably the next Chris Christie. Which is to say that she is currently being floated as a great savior of the Republican Party, even though she is terrible.

But while Martinez and some of the “young guns” being scouted by the National Republican Congressional Committee may make for some more demographically representative campaign ads, the policies they have built their careers on are pretty indistinguishable from the sea of white men who have been driving the GOP into the ground. And it’s these policies that matter most to the politically engaged and highly motived voting blocs — unmarried women of color, in particular — who are shaping contentious elections and whom the GOP so desperately want on its side.

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What WILL it take?

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I tweeted a thought experiment earlier today about how far the GOP would have to go with anti-choice bills before the MSM and Business Leaders™ would take notice and push back on them. You can read the rest here. I’m honestly afraid that a stone-women-to-death bill would be met with the same collective reticence by … Read more

Horrid anti-choice bill passes, to little attention

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Well, at least Howie Fischer covered it.

Citing everything from protecting women’s health to God’s opposition to the procedure, state senators gave final approval Wednesday to legislation allowing unannounced warrantless inspection of abortion clinics.

The 17-13 party-line voice vote came after extensive debate about not just whether the law is needed but whether it is really designed to harass abortion providers and their patients. The House already has approved the measure, meaning it now goes to Gov. Jan Brewer.

Brewer said Wednesday she never comments on legislation until she sees it. The governor conceded to Capitol Media Services, though, she has signed every new abortion restriction ever sent to her.

“I am pro-life and I believe that we have done a good job in Arizona,” she said.

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