Fmr. Rep. Donna Christensen: Affordable Care Act Isn't Going Away
As Washington debates whether the country should repeal the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, applicants are rushing to get covered, reportedly driving applications to a record high.
“I’m glad that the people understand the importance of getting coverage,” Donna Christensen, the former delegate for the U.S. Virgin Islands’ at-large district, told Cheddar on Wednesday.
But many still remain uninsured. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 28.2 million people under the age of 65 did not have coverage in 2016.
For context, that's a smaller proportion than before Obamacare passed. The federal agency said that the percentage of people uninsured now stands at 9 percent, compared to 16 percent in 2010.
Many uninsured and current beneficiaries of the Act worry that a repeal would be in place by 2019 and that time is running out. However, Christensen argues that this is not the case. She says it’s going to be very hard for Congress to repeal ACA.
“The Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land,” the ex-congresswoman said, stating that she doubts a repeal would ever happen.
“It was not easy to get the law passed, but it’s going to be more difficult to take it away,” Christensen said.
She encouraged the uninsured to seek coverage by December 15th this year, pointing out that benefits will be valid into the next year.
Congressional Budget Office director Keith Hall put out a blog post on the federal agency’s website on Wednesday. He says that according to the CBO’s most recent baseline, repealing Obamacare's individual mandate would reduce the nation’s federal budget deficit by $338 billion within the next decade. That's less than the previous estimate of $416 billion, made last December.
Tim Davis, Partner and Executive Managing Director at Steward Partners, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses what activity we could expect to see from the crypto market this week as the Fed decision approaches, the prices of Bitcoin and Ether struggle to find a spark, and the industry continues to digest President Biden's executive order on crypto.
Russia may be asking China for help with its war in Ukraine, according to several reports citing unnamed U.S. officials. Russia is reportedly calling on its ally for military and economic assistance, in an attempt to avoid punishment from sanctions imposed by the U.S., Europe, and Asia, which have hammered Russia's economy. Chinese and Russian officials denied the reports. Meanwhile, top U.S. and Chinese officials are meeting today, with both countries confirming the conflict in Ukraine will be the meeting's main topic. Edward Wong, diplomatic correspondent for the New York Times, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
A Ukrainian drone company is using its technology to help defend its home nation during the ongoing war with Russia. Valerii Iakovenko, co-founder and CEO of DroneUA, joined Cheddar News to discuss its efforts to help against the invasion. "These drones can be used to do strikes more precise and even cheap drones, even simple technologies can help to make a defensive possibilities more precise," he said.
Following the Texas Supreme Court's decision to end further challenges against the latest abortion restrictions, Texas saw a 60 percent decrease in abortions performed in the state — with an exodus of patients seeking care in other parts of the country. President, and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Alexis McGill Johnson, joined Cheddar News at South by Southwest 2022 to discuss the impact of the court's ruling on reproductive health care in the Lone Star State and beyond.
Damian Mason, farm owner, agricultural economist and author of "Food Fear" joined Cheddar News to talk about how the Russian invasion of Ukraine is putting pressure on commodities, which could lead to a 20 percent price hike according to the United Nations. “Russia and Ukraine are responsible for about 35 percent of exports, 35 percent of grain exports, specifically wheat,” said Mason. He also added, "You've got Russia saying, 'we're going to hoard and hold back our wheat,' which of course crimps global supply, and you've got Ukraine that maybe won't even get harvested."
In order to qualify for one of the coveted first retail licenses in New York's adult-use cannabis program, you'll have to have a conviction on cannabis-related charges or have an immediate family member who does. It's part of the latest effort by New York lawmakers to create a diverse and inclusive industry — but some advocates still have reservations. Amber Littlejohn, the executive director of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "We definitely applaud the state of new york, but ultimately the devil will be in the details as to whether or not this actually works out to create equity in the cannabis industry," she said.
David Daley, senior fellow for FairVote, joins Cheddar News to discuss the Supreme Court denying the GOP's challenge to congressional maps in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
