Obamacare led to better cancer outcomes: studies

Yahoo – AFP, June 2, 2019

The findings come as the administration of President Donald Trump is renewing its 

efforts to strike down the Affordable Care Act signed into law by his predecessor 

Barack Obama (seen) (AFP Photo/Juan BARRETO)

The findings come as the administration of President Donald Trump is renewing its efforts to strike down the Affordable Care Act signed into law by his predecessor Barack Obama (seen) (AFP Photo/Juan BARRETO)

Chicago (AFP) - A pair of studies have found that Obamacare led to an increase in early-stage ovarian cancer detections and helped nearly erase racial differences in the timely treatment of a range of cancers.

The findings, which were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, come as the administration of President Donald Trump is renewing its efforts to strike down the Affordable Care Act signed into law by his predecessor Barack Obama.

The study on ovarian cancer screening was led by Anna Jo Smith at the Johns Hopkins Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Baltimore.

"Having health insurance plays a major role in whether or not a woman has access to care providers who can monitor symptoms and act on those symptoms if necessary,"she said.

The five-year survival rate for women diagnosed with early-stage ovarian cancer is 75 percent, but the figure drops dramatically to 30 percent for those diagnosed at a later stage.

The ACA was signed into law on March 2010, and by 2016-17, some 12.7 million people were covered under the law.

The percentage of Americans who were uninsured dropped from 16 percent in 2010 to less than 12 percent by 2016.

The researchers used data from the National Cancer Database to look at the years before (2004-2009) and after (2011-2014) the passing of the ACA.

They looked at the stage of the diagnosis and the time to treatment for the 21 to 64 age group, and compared it to those 65 and older, which was used as a control group because they had access to publicly funded Medicare before and after.

They found that there was a relative gain of 1.7 percent in early-stage diagnosis and a 1.6 percent improvement in receiving treatment within 30 days.

The team wrote in a statement: "While a 1.7% difference in being diagnosed earlier may not sound very large, for the 22,000 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the United States annually, it means that close to 400 more women could be diagnosed at an early, treatable stage."

Racial differences erased

The second paper on Obamacare found that differences between whites and blacks in timely care "practically disappeared" following the passage of the law.

Two key provisions of the ACA were granting states permission to expand public funded Medicaid coverage to low-income citizens starting in 2014, and providing subsidies to those who could not afford to buy private insurance if they did not qualify for Medicaid.

The study looked at the records of 2.2 million people diagnosed with advanced cancers including non-small cell lung cancer, breast, urothelial, gastric and esophageal, colorectal, renal cell, prostate, and melanoma cancers.

"Prior to Medicaid expansion, African American patients were 4.8 percentage points less likely to receive timely treatment as compared with white patients," the researchers wrote.

After the ACA was passed, 6.1 percent more blacks received timely treatment as well as 2.1 percent of whites, making the differences between the races statistically insignificant.

"Many studies have described racial disparities that exist in cancer care, but few have shown what types of interventions improve health equity -- we now have evidence that Medicaid expansion can mitigate certain health disparities," said study author Amy J. Davidoff at the Yale School of Public Health.

Trump's Justice Department announced in March an abrupt escalation in the administration's push against Obamacare by siding with a Texas federal court ruling that declared the health care law unconstitutional.

That ruling is currently being appealed and the resulting impasse looks increasingly likely to end up in the Supreme Court -- putting a politically radioactive issue center stage as the country moves towards the 2020 presidential election.

India launches 'Modicare', world's biggest health scheme

Yahoo – AFP, September 23, 2018

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the world's largest health insurance
scheme, promising free coverage for half a billion of India's poorest citizens (AFP
Photo/PRAKASH SINGH)

New Delhi (AFP) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched the world's biggest health insurance scheme, promising free coverage for half a billion of India's poorest citizens ahead of national elections next year.

The bottom 40 percent of India's 1.25 billion people will be covered under the flagship program, dubbed "Modicare", unveiled in the federal budget earlier this year.

The 100 million lowest-income families will be provided 500,000 rupees ($6,900) -- a sizeable sum in India -- in annual health insurance to treat serious ailments.

Modi handed medical cards out at the launch in Ranchi, capital of the eastern state of Jharkhand, calling it a historic day for India.

"We want to strengthen the hands of the poor and stand shoulder to shoulder with them in pursuit of good health," he posted on Twitter.

The scheme is expected to cost the central and 29 state governments $1.6 billion per year in total. Funding will be increased gradually according to demand.

India's overburdened public health system is plagued by a shortage of facilities and doctors and most people use private clinics and hospitals if they can afford to.

But a private consultation can cost 1,000 rupees ($15), a huge sum for millions living on less than $2 a day.

More than 60 percent of the average family's spending goes on medicines and healthcare, the government estimates.

Many of the poorest just go without care.

A report published this month by The Lancet medical journal found substandard healthcare was responsible for an estimated 1.6 million deaths a year in India -- the highest anywhere in the world.

"A scam"

Critics have questioned how the government plans to fund such an enormous safety net, and suggested it was little more than a sop ahead of elections next May.

Modi will be seeking a second term on a platform of pro-poor policies and "Modicare" is a key plank of his pitch to low-income Indians.

"This is going to be another scam. It will benefit only private insurance companies. The citizen of the country will realise later that it is nothing but an election gimmick," said Sanjay Nirupam from India's main opposition Congress Party.

But K. K. Aggarwal, a cardiologist and former president of the Indian Medical Association, said "politicking over the scheme should stop".

"It has been launched, and it is going to be a game changer," he told AFP.

Some healthcare providers have raised concerns about being left out of pocket, fearing the government has underestimated the cost of certain treatments.

Prathap Reddy, chairman of private hospital chain Apollo Hospitals, said the private sector was "rightly worried" about pricing and reimbursements.

"While we all work together to ensure the success of this scheme, there are areas that need focus and fine tuning," he said.

Others say it should have included primary day-to-day healthcare instead of just secondary and tertiary care for more serious and long term treatment.

"Modicare does not extend to primary healthcare, which, we believe, is the weakest link in the provision of public health in India," Rajiv Lall and Vivek Dehejia of the IDFC Institute think-tank said in a column for the Mint newspaper.

US health care reform collapses as two more Republicans say no

Yahoo – AFP, Michael Mathes, July 18, 2017

President Donald Trump's health care reform, the subject of frequent protests, is
 one of the pending issues forcing the US Senate to delay its summer break (AFP
Photo/SAUL LOEB)

Washington (AFP) - Two more US Republican senators announced their opposition Monday to their party's efforts to revamp Obamacare, derailing the controversial legislation in its current form and potentially dealing a monumental setback to President Donald Trump.

Republican leaders are desperate for a major legislative victory this year -- and keen to fulfill Trump's campaign pledge to dismantle the 2010 health care reforms of his predecessor Barack Obama, formally called the Affordable Care Act.

But they had no votes to spare.

Republicans control 52 of the chamber's 100 seats. Democrats are united against the controversial legislation, while Republicans Susan Collins and Rand Paul declared their opposition last week.

So when Senate conservatives Mike Lee and Jerry Moran announced late Monday they could not support the bill, the news sent shockwaves across Washington.

"We should not put our stamp of approval on bad policy," Moran -- who faced considerable opposition at home in Kansas to the measure -- said in a statement, adding that the new bill "fails to repeal the Affordable Care Act or address health care's rising costs."

For Lee, "in addition to not repealing all of the Obamacare taxes, it doesn't go far enough in lowering premiums for middle class families; nor does it create enough free space from the most costly Obamacare regulations."

Their defections mean that the bill has no chance of even getting a vote on the Senate floor unless Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell decides to make significant changes to woo skeptics back into the fold.

"Republicans should just REPEAL failing ObamaCare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join in!" Trump tweeted after Lee and Moran made their opposition known.

In a statement McConnell acknowledged "regretfully" that his effort had failed. But he wasn't giving up.

"So, in the coming days, the Senate will vote to take up ... a repeal of Obamacare with a two-year delay to provide for a stable transition period," he said, without setting a date.

"Inaction is not an option," added a White House spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We look forward to Congress continuing to work toward a bill the president can sign to end the Obamacare nightmare."

US Senator John McCain, shown here in Kabul in early July, is recovering from 

surgery, but the defection of two more Republican senators means his vote on 

health care is moot (AFP Photo/SHAH MARAI)

'Unworkable'

Over the weekend, McConnell delayed a vote to proceed on the bill, after Senator John McCain, 80, underwent surgery to remove a blood clot above his eye and said he would recuperate at home in Arizona for at least a week.

But McCain's absence is now a moot point.

Several Republicans had already expressed concern that the new bill could slash funding for Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor and the disabled.

The new bill would gradually roll back the program, a move that some Republicans warn could lead to millions losing coverage.

The latest defections also show that conservatives are frustrated that the new bill does not repeal the Obamacare taxes.

Democratic reaction was swift.

This failure is proof "that the core of this bill is unworkable," said top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer.

Republicans should instead "start from scratch and work with Democrats on a bill that lowers premiums, provides long-term stability to the markets and improves our health care system."

'Wheels off the bus'

Republican leaders are eager to notch a major victory for Trump in Congress as he nears the six-month mark of his presidency.

Congress could also address tax reform and infrastructure - but the Senate must first deal with a logjam of urgent business, including whether to raise the federal borrowing limit.

Some fear that repealing Obamacare could adversely impact millions of Americans on Medicaid, or make health costs soar for people with pre-existing health conditions.

There is little institutional support for the bill, and even less for an amendment introduced by Senator Ted Cruz that would allow insurers to offer bare-bones plans that do not comply with Obamacare's coverage requirements.

The chief executives of America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association called it "simply unworkable in any form."

A Post poll released Sunday showed Americans preferred Obamacare to the Republican plan by 50 percent to 24 percent.

Despite the Republican setback, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said his Republican colleagues will not easily give up.

"There's a couple wheels off the bus right now," Murphy told MSNBC after the announcement from Lee and Moran.

But "they are not going to give up on it," he added.

New blow for Trump as Obamacare repeal bid collapses

Yahoo – AFP, March 25, 2017

Health care activists march to the Trump International hotel in Washington, DC,
during a protest against President Donald Trump's effort to repeal Obamacare
(AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump faced the biggest blow yet to his young presidency as his bid to repeal Obamacare went down in flames at the hands of rebel Republican lawmakers.

Barely two months into his term, Trump was forced to withdraw an embattled Republican health care bill Friday, moments before a vote, leaving his campaign pledge to dismantle his predecessor's health care reforms unfulfilled.

The stinging defeat showed the limits of Trump's power to deliver on an ambitious legislative agenda despite Republican control of both houses of Congress.

Already rocked by a string of damaging reversals and controversies, Trump must now consider how to move forward in the face of a fractured, rebellious Congress.

"Trump will have a very hard time dealing with these divides because he does not understand them," said John Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont-McKenna College.

On Trump's agenda are a major overhaul of the tax system and a bill to upgrade infrastructure like roads and bridges.

Comparing Trump's health care plan to Obamacare (AFP Photo/Gustavo 

IZUS, Anella RETA)

"We were very, very close" to securing enough support for the bill, Trump said in the Oval Office.

But with no Democratic backing, "we couldn't quite get there."

Trump had thrown his full political weight behind the measure, spending days arm-twisting recalcitrant Republicans, and he declared himself "disappointed" and a "little surprised" by the defeat.

The battle was an eye-opening experience for Trump, a billionaire real estate tycoon who entered the White House with no experience in politics or government, including the delicate navigations of Congress.

The bill's defeat marked a second major policy setback for the new president, who has seen his attempt to curb travel from Muslim-majority countries twice frozen by the courts.

Instead of projecting humility, Trump went on the offensive Friday, branding Democrats as the real "losers" of the failed repeal bid because "now they own Obamacare. They own it, 100 percent."

The president met with House Speaker Paul Ryan earlier in the day, then spoke with him by telephone when it was clear the party did not have the votes to get its plan across the finish line.

"I told him that the best thing I think to do is to pull this bill and he agreed with that decision," Ryan said.

But while Trump was quick to blame Democrats for not giving "a single vote" for his plan, Ryan owned up to the failures.

"I will not sugar coat this. This is a disappointing day for us," said the top Republican in Congress.

US President Donald Trump branded Democrats as the real "losers" of the failed 

bid to repeal Obamacare because "now they own Obamacare. They own it, 

100 percent" (AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

Start over

The Trump-backed plan, intended to expand free-market competition in the insurance industry and lower the cost of premiums for most Americans, would also have slashed public assistance to people who have no health coverage through their employer.

Some 14 million people stood to lose their coverage starting next year, according to congressional forecasts.

Basic benefits covered under Obamacare -- such as maternity care and emergency room visits -- would no longer have been considered essential and required for insurers to provide.

The bill now appears dead, with Republican lawmakers urging a return to the drawing board.

"Clearly, the votes weren't there," said Congressman Charlie Dent, one of several moderate House Republicans who expressed concerns over the bill's impact on poor and elderly Americans.

"So I think it's important now that we start over, and we do a durable, sustainable health care reform and it be done in a bipartisan way," he added.

By pulling the bill, Ryan flew in the face of a White House that had declared negotiations over and demanded a vote on Friday.

Trump had put his reputation as a dealmaker on the line with the high-risk vote.

Congressman Mo Brooks, a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus that largely opposed the measure on grounds it was too similar to Obamacare, said he was "pleased as could be that the legislation has failed," arguing it would have been bad for Americans.

But he refused to place blame on the president.

"I don't think this reflects on the president in any way, shape or form," Brooks said.

US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said he told President Donald Trump "the

 best thing I think to do is to pull" an embattled Republican health care bill (AFP

Photo/Nicholas Kamm)

But some conservative centrists expressed frustration with recalcitrant hardliners.

"The House Freedom Caucus just single-handedly saved #Obamacare," Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger charged on Twitter.

'Law of the land' 

It was not clear when Congress would return to health care, as Trump said he would shift quickly toward tax reform, another longstanding goal of Republicans.

"Obamacare is the law of the land. It's going to remain the law of the land until it's replaced."

Democrats said they were open to cooperation -- provided Republicans wanted to help fix the existing law.

"We're ready to work with the president," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on CNN.

"Take repeal off the table," and "we'll work with them on improving Obamacare."

Health care: Obama warns against changes that harm Americans

Yahoo – AFP, March 23, 2017

People protest Trump administration policies that threaten the Affordable
Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid in January 2017 in Los Angeles, California
(AFP Photo/DAVID MCNEW)

Washington (AFP) - Former president Barack Obama warned Thursday against approving a Republican bill that would repeal his signature health care reform law unless the measure improves coverage for Americans.

"We should start from the baseline that any changes will make our health care system better, not worse for hardworking Americans. That should always be our priority," Obama said in a statement on the seventh anniversary of his signing "Obamacare" into law.

Obama weighed in on the big debate of the day in Washington as the House of Republicans prepared for a high-stakes, too-close-to-call vote on a new health care plan backed by President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed Obamacare as disastrous.

But in doing away with the Obama law, the Trump plan would cause an estimated 14 million people to lose their health care insurance by next year, according to an assessment by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

President Donald Trump faces a reckoning Thursday as US lawmakers vote on the Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare pic.twitter.com/V0LISusIlD

— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 23, 2017

Related Articles:

New blow for Trump as Obamacare repeal bid collapses - New
US House delays vote on healthcare bill

NL has best healthcare system in Europe, Swedish consumer group says

NL has best healthcare system in Europe, Swedish consumer group says

DutchNews, January 31, 2017

The Dutch healthcare system was ranked the best in Europe for the seventh consecutive year, according to the annual index complied by Sweden’s Health Consumer Powerhouse. 

The index is based on 48 indicators, including accessibility, costs, results, patients rights and the use of pharmaceuticals. 

The Netherlands scores better every year and this year took 927 of the 1,000 points in the survey. Waiting lists have improved sharply but further improvement would boost the score, the organisation said. Second on the list, with 904 points, is Switzerland. 

Accessibility is a major advantage of the Dutch system, the researchers said. They also valued the relative lack of influence politicians and insurers have on decisions taken in the operating room. 

Nevertheless, the Netherlands also has one of the most expensive healthcare systems in Europe, averaging out at more than $5,000 per capita. The country also makes above average use of institutionalised mental health and geriatric care, the report said. 

The Netherlands’ lowest sub-index score is 11th in terms of price-quality. Macedonia, with the second lowest per capita healthcare cost, offers the best value for money, the Swedish report said. 

Read the report

Senator Ted Cruz to sign up for 'Obamacare'

Yahoo – AFP, 24 March 2015

US Senator Ted Cruz announces his candidacy for the Republican
nomination to run for US president March 23, 2015 at Liberty University
 in Lynchburg, Virginia (AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards)

Washington (AFP) - Senator Ted Cruz is among America's most vocal opponents of "Obamacare," but the newly-announced presidential candidate is reportedly about to sign up for the health care program he loves to hate.

"We will presumably go on the exchange and sign up for health care and we're in the process of transitioning over to do that," Cruz told The Des Moines Register on Tuesday.

One day earlier, the 44-year-old freshman senator became the first major Republican politician to formally declare his campaign for the White House.

In his announcement speech, Cruz proclaimed that if elected he would repeal "every word of Obamacare."

Meanwhile, he is signing up for the coverage as a requirement for members of Congress.

The lawmaker's family has been covered under the plan held by his wife Heidi Cruz through her employer Goldman Sachs.

But Cruz told the Register that his wife is going on an unpaid leave of absence to join him full time on the campaign trail.

The health care exchanges that Cruz would join became law under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

They constitute an online marketplace where small businesses, and individuals including the uninsured, can purchase health coverage.

As a US lawmaker, Cruz will choose his insurance through the DC Health Link small business market.

According to federal guidelines, members of Congress receive a "government contribution" if they purchase coverage through the ACA.

Asked whether he would accept the government contributions, Cruz told CNN he will "follow the text of the law."

He reiterated his intent to keep fighting for a full Obamacare repeal, even though some Republicans have "quietly and privately given up on that fight."

The ACA came into effect five years ago Monday.