Trending News Today: ACA Fix Could be Included in Stop-Gap Funding Bill

Sen Lamar Alexander (R-TN) recently said that a bipartisan fix for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be included in a stop-gap government funding bill, The Hill reported. The novel bill is said to stabilize the marketplace by reducing high premiums; however, including the ACA provision in the government funding legislation may not be supported by conservatives, which would complicate gaining enough support to pass the bill, according to the article.

Yesterday, Virginia Gov Terry McAuliffe proposed a state budget that includes funding for Medicaid expansion, according to The Washington Post. Current state GOP leaders said that they will review the budget, but a finalized version will likely not include expansion as the outgoing governor proposed. The Post said that McAuliffe unsuccessfully pushed for Medicaid expansion under the ACA, but state Republicans said it would be fiscally irresponsible. The significant incoming number of Democrats to the Virginia state legislature may help further McAuliffe’s desire to expand the program, according to the article.

The EPA said yesterday that a common herbicide in weed killers may not cause cancer, which contradicts the opinion of California regulators who added glyphosate to the Proposition 65 list of potential carcinogens, The Los Angeles Times reported. While environmentalists have urged governments around the world to ban the pesticide, the European Union extended its license and the EPA will consider similar action in 2019, according to the article. Some groups cautioning about the harms of glyphosate said that the findings may overlook the significant risks associated with the chemical.