Capping health care benefits — like federal welfare benefits — would be a first for Medicaid, the joint state-and-federal health plan for low-income and disabled Americans.
If approved, the dramatic policy change would recast government-subsidized health coverage as temporary assistance by placing a limit on the number of months adults have access to Medicaid benefits.
The move would continue the Trump administration’s push to inject conservative policies into the Medicaid program through the use of federal waivers, which allow states more flexibility to create policies designed to promote personal and financial responsibility among enrollees.
However, advocates say capping Medicaid benefits would amount to a massive breach of the nation’s social safety net designed to protect children, the elderly and the impoverished.
In January, the Trump administration approved waiver requests from Kentucky and Indiana to terminate Medicaid coverage for able-bodied enrollees who do not meet new program […]
1 Comment
Wednesday, February 7th, 2018
Eli Watkins and Ryan Browne, - CNN
Stephan: I think it is clear by both his actions and words that Donald Trump considers himself to the authoritarian leader of the United States and, like all autocrats, he loves the pomp and circumstance of military parades.
The media talk about this as arising from his visit to Paris and the military parade the French put on and that may be a factor. But I think what is really driving Trump are the North Korean military parades. I wonder if he will want one of the flagbearers to carry a flag with his face on it; or maybe just a big golden "T".
This parade will cost millions of dollars, probably tens of millions, and Pennsylvania Avenue will have to be repaved. Imagine how many children that money could feed?
Personally, I think we should all boycott the parade. In fact if this really gets scheduled as Trump wants, I will start a petition urging people to boycott it.
The spokesman described the planning process as being in its “infancy.”
In response to the news, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Trump had asked the Defense Department to “explore” the idea.
“President Trump is incredibly supportive of America’s great servicemembers who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation,” Sanders said.
The Washington Post
first reported Trump told top Pentagon brass last month he wants a […]
3 Comments
Tuesday, February 6th, 2018
Alastair Gee, - The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: The legacy that each generation of Americans bequeaths to the generation that comes after them, the national parks, forests, and monuments, with Trump's administration have been shrunk and now subject to exploitation by a few wealthy Republican supporters. It is such a tragedy.
Donald Trump downsized Bears Ears national monument with a December order.
Credit: Andrew Cullen/Reuters
Hundreds of thousands of acres of land that were part of two US national monuments shrunk by Donald Trump are being opened on Friday to mining claims for uranium and other minerals.
It is a symbolic step in a broader conflict over the fate of America’s public lands, on which Trump hopes to encourage greater access for extractive industries.
In December, Trump ordered that Bears Ears national monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monument, both in southern Utah and home to ancient Native American sites, spectacular landscapes and rare flora and fauna, be downsized by a total of 2m acres.
How Trump’s cuts to public lands threaten future dinosaur discoveries
His proclamation judged that large portions of the monuments were not unique or of particular scientific or historic interest, a point fiercely contested by environmentalists, Native American groups and scientists, who have brought five lawsuits.
Today is when “the Trump administration […]
No Comments