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What We're Reading: 20 Million Gained Insurance Under the ACA
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What we're reading, March 4, 2016: Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, 20 million people have signed up for healthcare coverage; the FDA has a backlog of 4000 drug applications waiting for approval; and Flint, Michigan, receives expanded Medicaid coverage.
Since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, approximately 20 million people have gained health coverage, President Barack Obama said in Milwaukee. The new report from the administration found that more than 6 million young adults between the ages of 19 and 25 gained insurance, according to The Washington Post. Obama was in Milwaukee because the city won the Health Communities Challenges to see which of 20 cities could sign up the most people for coverage.
The FDA may have approved a record number of drugs in December 2015, but the agency is still under pressure to speed up approval of generic medicines. The FDA may be making headway, but it still has a backlog of about 4000 applications yet to be approved, STAT reported. The workload is not expected to be reduced as more applications are being filed annually than the FDA had estimated.
Flint, Michigan, is receiving extended Medicaid coverage to care for 15,000 children and pregnant women exposed to the contaminated water. The New York Times reported that the individuals will be eligible for free healthcare if they are exposed to the water in their homes, workplaces, schools, or day care facilities and their household income does not exceed 400% of the poverty level ($97,000 for a family of 4).
