We need to talk about mental illness until no one is afraid to ask for help. As the world mourns the loss of Robin Williams, there are two things we must remember. The first is the light he shared with us, bringing us laughter and genius and inspiration that will outlive us all. The second is that depression is an […]

Next year, an amazing thing will happen. Millions of Americans won’t be paying more for health insurance. Subsidized middle-class consumers — about 85 percent of the those who purchased a plan — currently pay an average of $264 less a month because of the law. And they will likely be paying just about the same amount in premiums in 2015 […]

One 27-year-old with multiple part-time jobs on how important — and easy — it is to get health insurance. With apologies to James Brown, Marcus Laban may be the hardest-working man in show business. He works part-time for a casting director, directs high school plays on a seasonal basis and just ended a tour with the Michigan Shakespeare Festival. To […]

Medicare is healthier, too, and it’s all thanks to Obamacare. July 30th marks the 49th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, and both programs are looking better than they were just a few years ago. As LOLGOP wrote earlier, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has already extended the life of Medicare by 13 years — and that’s just one piece of […]

Some insurers want to raise your rates significantly for 2015. In Michigan, it’s your right to tell them how you feel about that. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has gone a long way toward making health insurance more affordable, but until there’s full reform of the insurance industry, there isn’t very much incentive for insurance companies to stop raising your […]

With the recent conflicting rulings by federal courts over whether subsidies for health insurance can be used by residents in states relying on the federal health insurance exchange created by the Affordable Care Act, there is discussion of revisiting the creation of a state-run exchange in Michigan. There could be another push in Lansing to set up a state-run website […]

Republican celebrations over a D.C. Appeals court ruling that would deny tax credits who people who bought their insurance through the federal health care exchange hit a new pitch on Thursday. A “smoking gun” video seemed to reveal Romneycare/Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber suggesting that that Democrats meant to deny those credits to residents of states who refused to build exchanges. […]

Photo by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog A federal court’s decision in the Halbig v. Burwell lawsuit earlier this month threatens the Affordable Care Act subisidies of nearly a half million Michiganders. The ruling contends that the law is written to exclude subsidies from residents in states that rely on the federal health insurance exchange. This, of course, wouldn’t […]

Workers are just pawns in the GOP’s sabotage game In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that federal tax credits cannot by awarded to anyone who purchased health insurance from the marketplace the federal government set up in 36 states. (And just a few hours later, the Fourth Circuit Court ruled in “precisely […]

Advocates are working to get the same services covered for trans men and women that are covered for everyone else. Jay Maddock has known he was a man for most of his life, even though that’s not the body he was born with. At age five, he told his dad he wanted to be a man, and was fortunate to […]

Democratic legislators demand hearings on women’s health rider repeal bills, while Republican Gov. Rick Snyder aligns with employer who sued over contraception coverage. The distinctions between Michigan’s Democratic and Republican legislators are clearer every day, leaving no question about which party stands with women. State Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer and State Representative Sarah Roberts have delivered letters to Senate […]