What we're reading, December 14, 2016: many Obamacare enrollees voted for Donald Trump expecting him to fix, not repeal, the law; President Barack Obama signs 21st Century Cures Act into law; Ohio Governor John Kasich vetoes one abortion bill, signs another.
People who have enrolled for healthcare insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and voted for Donald Trump did so because they expected him to fix, not repeal, the law. According to Vox’s Sarah Kliff, who spent time in Kentucky interviewing Trump supporters, people were frustrated with the rising cost of premiums and deductibles and the idea that other people were getting better, cheaper benefits. They all believed that Trump would fix the problems they saw with the ACA and that he wouldn’t really repeal the law.
President Barack Obama has signed the 21st Century Cures Act into law. The bill invests $1.8 billion in Vice President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot program and includes an $6.3 billion in new spending overall in the next 10 years. While the bill represents a rare example of bipartisanship, patient advocacy groups remain opposed to it, reported the AP. They believe the bill weakens FDA oversight. At the signing, Obama touted the benefits of the ACA in the hope that Congress will continue its bipartisan work and keep the bill.
In Ohio, Governor John Kasich vetoed one abortion bill only to sign into law another, less restrictive abortion bill. According to The Washington Post, Kasich vetoed the controversial “heartbeat bill” that would ban abortion as early as 6 weeks—before most women know they are pregnant. However, he did sign a bill that banned the procedure at 20 weeks. The newly signed law conflicts with previous Supreme Court decisions, which tend to uphold abortion rights until around 24 weeks.
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