Trending News Today: Low Income Health Insurance Rates Improve

Health coverage rates keep improving among children in lower income households due to federal healthcare laws, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program. Kaiser Health News reported that in 2014, 91% of eligible children were enrolled in either program, which is a large increase from the previous year where only 88.7% were enrolled. The biggest coverage increases were in states that expanded their Medicaid programs to adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level.

Judge Rosemary M. Collyer recently ruled in favor of the House of Representatives that the Department of Health and Human Services would not be allowed to spend billions of dollars as part of a new healthcare law. This law would help at least 7 million lower-income individuals pay deductibles, copayments, and out-of-pocket costs, according to The New York Times. The judge stated that Congress never gave authority for the spending and it cannot be inferred.

On Thursday, the House passed multiple bills to try and combat pain killer and heroin abuse, since the CDC recently reported that opioid overdoses tripled from 2000 to 2014. The bills provide for substance abuse treatment, education, law enforcement efforts to stop the epidemic, and other provisions, according to The Wall Street Journal. The bill authorized $103 million in in grants for the services and passed in a 413-5 vote.