JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/MEDICAID/OBAMACARE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “As President Donald Trump continues to make clear that he wants to kill the Affordable Care Act, new research suggests that a big part of the ACA — the expansion of the Medicaid program — was linked with fewer cardiovascular-related deaths in counties where expansion took place. Between 2010 and 2016, counties in states where Medicaid expanded had 4 fewer deaths per 100,000 residents each year from cardiovascular causes after expansion, compared with counties in non-expansion states, according to the research. The findings were presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions on Friday [4-5-19]. Enrollments for insurance under the ACA began in 2014…Anyone can qualify for Medicaid based on income, household size, disability, family status and other factors, but the ACA allows states to expand Medicaid eligibility so that residents can qualify based solely on whether their household income level is a certain percentage below the federal poverty level. The new research is preliminary and still in its early stages, but it comes as the Trump administration appears to be doubling down on trying to overturn Obamacare. In a surprise move last week, the Department of Justice said it agreed with the December ruling of a federal judge in Texas that invalidated the health reform law. The case is now in federal appeals court.”
–Jacqueline Howard, “Medicaid expansion tied to fewer heart-related deaths, study finds,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, April 5, 2019 3:45 pm