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In a radical departure from established legal doctrine, a federal judge in Texas issued a ruling against the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on December 14, claiming that the entire law must fall. At the center of the lawsuit, brought by a coalition of Republican-led states, was the ACA’s individual mandate and penalty for failure to be insured. Congress repealed this penalty in last year’s tax bill. As a result, the lawsuit claimed the ACA was invalid. Unfortunately, the district court in Texas agreed with this flawed analysis, although legal scholars have denounced it across the ideological spectrum.

Pre-existing conditions have been prominent in the news lately and much of the discussion includes some misunderstandings about what it actually means to protect coverage of pre-existing conditions and why it matters. While Medicare and Medicaid cover pre-existing conditions and that coverage is not under threat, there are changes in laws and regulations, and even a pending court case, that do put coverage at-risk for millions of people in the United States who are covered by employer or individual insurance. Polling consistently finds that Americans want protections for pre-existing conditions, with 75% of the public saying it’s “very important” such protections remain law. But there is a lot of confusion about what this means.

Certain threats to health care seem to arise from the dead regularly, and this Halloween season features an assortment of such zombie threats to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As 2018 winds down, we must remain vigilant about attempts to cut or eliminate these vital programs that help older adults, people with disabilities, and their families and caregivers.

This week, Kaiser Health News (KHN) and National Public Radio (NPR) published and broadcast the story of 44 year-old Drew Calver, a high school teacher in Austin, Texas who faced an outrageous hospital bill.

In the wake of a life-threatening heart attack, Mr. Calver was rushed to a nearby emergency room, where he was admitted to the hospital and underwent surgery. The heart attack was a shock for Calver, an avid swimmer and triathlete. Adding to his surprise was the bill he faced afterwards: the hospital charged $164,941 for the surgery and four days in the hospital. His insurer paid the hospital $55,840. The hospital then billed Mr. Calver for the unpaid balance of $108,951.31.

Congress is trying to pass a new budget this week that includes many important Medicare provisions. One of these provisions is a worrisome extension of past practices: increasing the amount some people must pay for their Medicare benefits.

Senate leaders are reportedly rushing forward to vote on their health plan, and reports indicate that the plan will be essentially the same as the American Health Care Act (AHCA)–the destructive bill passed by a narrow margin in the House of Representatives last month. Since Senate leaders are keeping their backroom dealings out of the public’s view, we can only assume that their bill will have the same impact as the AHCA. Our new resource, Paying More for Less: American Health Care Act, highlights the devastating effects of the AHCA.

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed—by a very narrow margin—the American Health Care Act (AHCA) (H.R.1628) a partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act as well as a major rewrite of the Medicaid program. Now the focus turns to the U.S. Senate. Though many Senators initially expressed deep concerns with the AHCA’s provisions, there are strong indications that the chamber is moving forward through a similarly rushed, secretive process and making only minor changes to the bill.