RandySF
RandySF's JournalWhat strikes me most about Trump's fury towards NFL players
is how that contrasted with the timidity he displayed when he "condemned" white supremacists. That's I all the time I want to spend on THIS topic.
Trump Will Shut Obamacare Site During Open Enrollment
The shutdown will occur from midnight until noon every Sunday except Dec. 10.
The Department of Health and Human Services will also shut down the federal exchange -- healthcare.gov -- overnight on the first day of open enrollment, Nov. 1. More than three dozen states use that exchange for their marketplaces.
HHS officials disclosed this information Friday during a webinar with community groups that help people enroll in Obamacare.
Outages occurred under the Obama administration, as well, but they weren't as frequent. Typically, the online enrollment system was only shut down for a few hours at a time and it was much less frequent than once a week, former officials said.
"There is just a really big question as to why this is happening," said Lori Lodes, former CMS communications director.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/22/news/economy/obamacare-open-enrollment/index.html
Rep. Hunter's Call for a 'Preemptive Strike' on North Korea Draws Concern
Controversial comments made by U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-50th District) calling for a “preemptive strike” on North Korea have drawn concern and criticism from national security experts.
Hunter, interviewed by the local news station KUSI, said North Korea has nuclear weapons aimed at the U.S. and San Diego.
“From my perspective, why would I not hit you first? Why not do a preemptive strike when you have ICMBs leveled at the U.S. and you’re not a logical player in the world scene,” said Hunter.
“I would preemptively strike them. You can call it declaring war, call it whatever you want, but preemptively striking them and taking them out, I personally think that’s the only thing to get them not to have nuclear missiles at the United States,” said Hunter.
The comments were made in support of President Trump's comments before the United Nations earlier in the week. The President said if forced to defend itself, the U.S. “will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Rep-Hunter-Demands-Preemptive-Strike-on-North-Korea-Sparking-Controversy-446947653.html
Grassley: Repealing O'Care Is More Important Than Whatever Replaces It
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said Wednesday he could give “10 reasons why this bill shouldn’t be considered,” referring to the Senate’s final attempt to repeal Obamacare this year—but he’s still dead-set on supporting it.
Grassley said keeping Republicans’ campaign promise to get rid of former President Obama’s signature accomplishment was as important as the contents of the most recent health care bill, penned by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
“You know, I could maybe give you 10 reasons why this bill shouldn’t be considered,” Grassley told Iowa reporters on a call, according to the Des Moines Register. “But Republicans campaigns on this so often that you have a responsibility to carry out what you said in the campaign.”
“That’s pretty much as much of a reason as the substance of the bill,” he added.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/chuck-grassley-graham-cassidy-bill
Seoul media say North might test nuke in Pacific
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korean media report North Korea's top diplomat says his country may test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean to fulfill leader Kim Jong Un's vow to take the "highest-level" action against the United States.
Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho comments Thursday on the sidelines of a United Nations gathering followed an extraordinary direct statement by Kim in response to President Donald Trump's threat to "totally destroy" the North.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports that Ri told reporters in New York that a response "could be the most powerful detonation of an H-bomb in the Pacific."
http://www.ktvu.com/news/seoul-media-say-north-might-test-nuke-in-pacific
Trump blocks woman with stage 4 cancer on Twitter after she criticized his latest health care plan
On Wednesday morning, President Trump tweeted out his support for the so-called Graham-Cassidy health care bill that would allow insurers to discriminate against people with preexisting conditions and could cause tens of millions to lose coverage.
In the hours before Trump posted that tweet, his account blocked a woman with stage 4 cancer who has spoken out about the dangers of Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare.
Following a restless night, Laura Packard, a Las Vegas-based self-employed consultant, found out she’d been blocked by the president.
“I didn’t sleep too well because of the cancer,” she told ThinkProgress by phone. “But I don’t know if he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today or what.
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-blocks-laura-packard-after-she-criticized-trumpcare-graham-cassidy-heller-adb4d69020c5/
Report: 32 million will lose health care under Graham-Cassidy
Last week, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R–S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R–La.) unveiled congressional Republicans’ latest bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has indicated that it will not release a score of the bill that includes its effects on insurance coverage for several weeks, but Senate leaders have indicated they will hold a vote without a score. The bill, however, is similar to prior ACA repeal-and-replace bills for which we do have CBO scores. Based on those estimates, it is likely that the bill, if enacted, would lead to a loss of health insurance for at least 32 million people after 2026.
The bill can be boiled down to five key provisions:
-Repeals the ACA marketplace subsidies and federal funding for the Medicaid expansion in 2020.
-Creates temporary block grants for states that end in 2026. States can use the funds for a wide range of purposes.
-Repeals the individual and employer mandates.
-Creates a waiver program for states that would allow insurers to charge people more based on their health and cut benefits like maternity care.
-Places per capita spending limits on funding for the traditional Medicaid program.
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/blog/2017/sep/potential-effects-of-graham-cassidy
Senate likely to start voting on GOP health plan next Wednesday
Senate leadership is aiming to start voting on the Cassidy-Graham health care plan next Wednesday. "I think so. I think that's the likely thing," Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of leadership, told me.
Leadership is still trying to figure out where each senator stands.
The vehicle Republicans are using to pass the bill with only a 50-vote threshold expires next Saturday.
What we're watching: Sens. Lisa Murkowski and John McCain. If either of them (or a wild card) comes out against the bill before next week, it's unclear whether it would come to the floor.
"Some don't want to take another tough vote if the whole team (or at least 50) isn't on board. Some say we can't get this close and not try by forcing the vote – make people identify where they are. I think the 'vote no matter what' school is winning out," a senior GOP aide said.
https://www.axios.com/senate-looks-to-start-voting-on-gop-health-plan-next-wednesday-2487208910.html
How Cassidy-Graham brings back preexisting conditions
The new Republican plan to repeal Obamacare would bring preexisting conditions back to the individual market, allowing insurers to charge sick people higher premiums — or deny them coverage outright.
"You can be charged more for a specific condition," says Chris Sloan, a senior manager at the health research firm Avalere, of the Cassidy-Graham plan that has begun to gain traction on Capitol Hill.
The new bill has been championed by its sponsors, Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), as giving states more flexibility in how they run their health care systems. One of those flexibilities includes a waiver system that would let states opt out of many key Obamacare regulations.
Those waivers do have some guardrails. The bill says states cannot tether an individual's premiums to "sex or membership in a protected class under the Constitution of the United States."
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/policy-and-politics/2017/9/18/16330574/cassidy-graham-preexisting-conditions
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