Tim Kennedy On Save Our Allies Mission To Rescue & Aid Americans and Allies in Crisis & Catastrophes
Tim Kennedy, founder of Save Our Allies spoke to Brian Kilmeade about how his organization helps rescue Americans and our allies in need across the globe.
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The Intercept
20 minutes ago
- The Intercept
South Carolina Can Deny Medicaid Patients Planned Parenthood Care, SCOTUS Rules
The Supreme Court moved to limit access to health care for over 1.3 million South Carolinians on Thursday by allowing the state to block Medicaid recipients from getting care at Planned Parenthood. The tight restriction on reproductive rights will likely pave the way for similar bans in other states, as ongoing attacks on abortion providers further impinge on access to maternal, gynecological, and other basic forms of health care. In a 6-3 decision, the court determined that Planned Parenthood clinics and patients in South Carolina may not sue the state for denying Medicaid funding to the reproductive care provider. The ruling overturns repeated lower court decisions that affirmed Medicaid recipients' rights to visit a provider of their choosing that accepts the program. It comes against the backdrop of looming federal cuts to Medicaid, which would further restrict health care access for millions of low-income Americans. In South Carolina, abortion is already subjected to a near-total ban. State law prohibits abortion after six weeks with limited exceptions — which is often before someone would be aware that they're pregnant. Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has been direct about wanting to target Planned Parenthood because the network of clinics is known as an abortion provider. 'South Carolina has made it clear that we value the right to life,' McMaster said in a February statement. 'Therefore, taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize abortion providers who are in direct opposition to their beliefs.' The idea that Medicaid is subsidizing abortion care in South Carolina is incredibly misleading, said Susanna Birdsong, general counsel and vice president of compliance at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. 'Medicaid does not cover abortion except in very narrow circumstances of rape, incest in life of the pregnant person,' Birdsong said. 'That's been a federal rule since the 1970s.' Planned Parenthood provides care for a host of other sexual and reproductive wellness concerns — meaning that low-income South Carolinians will lose access to 'health care that has nothing to do with abortion,' Birdsong said. She pointed to things like testing for sexually transmitted infections, cancer screening, and birth control. In its ruling, the Court made clear that it was aware of the other services Planned Parenthood provides. 'Planned Parenthood South Atlantic operates two clinics in South Carolina, offering a wide range of services to Medicaid and non-Medicaid patients,' reads a summary of the decision. 'It also performs abortions.' The Court noted that Planned Parenthood and a patient sued under the any-qualified-provider provision, which allows Medicaid patients to seek care from a provider of their choosing, but the majority determined they did not necessarily have an 'enforceable' right to do so. Experts expect that this decision will open the floodgates for other states to pass similar bans, limiting access to the largest provider of reproductive and sexual health care in the United States for millions of lower-income Americans. 'Other states certainly have tried it before,' said Dr. Jamila Perritt, an OB-GYN and president of the nonprofit Physicians for Reproductive Health. 'Much in the same way that abortion bans really swept this country, I think we're going to see similar effects.' The decision to limit where Medicaid patients can access care disproportionately affects women of color, said Perritt. As of 2023, the majority of people enrolled in Medicaid in South Carolina were nonwhite, and roughly 39 percent of Medicaid enrollees were Black, according to health policy research nonprofit KFF. Even before the decision, access to health care — particularly reproductive and sexual health care — in South Carolina was a challenge for lower-income residents. Roughly 41 of the state's 46 counties are considered federally designated 'Health Professional Shortage Areas,' and Medicaid recipients are disproportionately likely to live in communities with provider shortages. 'We're talking about communities that are already marginalized from care, communities that already have disproportionately poor reproductive and sexual health outcomes,' said Perritt, who predicted the decision would have 'significant negative health consequences.' Aside from having one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, South Carolina is one of only 10 states not to expand Medicaid coverage since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. South Carolina also has the eighth-highest maternal mortality rate in the country, hovering around 47.2 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births, and some of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections in the nation. 'It's really a state that should be investing more in its public health infrastructure and making sure that people who live in the state have access to the care that they need,' said Birdsong. Jennifer Driver, senior director of reproductive rights for State Innovation Exchange, said, like the state's abortion ban, lower-income people in South Carolina will bear the brunt of the burden of this decision. 'It targets people who are already limited on resources to say, 'You know what? On top of that, you actually don't get to have a decision on the care that you get and the provider you get it from,' she said. Read Our Complete Coverage At the same time, the Trump administration and Congress are seeking to further restrict health coverage for low-income Americans. A Congressional Budget Office report found that the House of Representatives' version of the 'Big, Beautiful, Bill' would leave 16 million Americans without health insurance and kick 7.8 million people off of Medicaid. Senate Republicans are considering their own set of Medicaid cuts, though they've been snarled by political opposition. 'This is a clear and obvious attack on people with low income, people who rely on Planned Parenthood clinics to get life-saving health services,' said Perritt. She described the decision as part of the government's broader efforts 'to eliminate access to comprehensive health care for folks, really across the country. This has to also be understood as an attack that reaches far beyond the borders of South Carolina.'
The Hill
20 minutes ago
- The Hill
Qatar expects Iran-Israel ceasefire to hold
Qatar expects that the Israel-Iran ceasefire announced earlier this week will hold, government spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told NewsNation's Brian Entin on Thursday. 'Any ceasefire anywhere in the world is fragile. But we have great confidence in President Trump's push for this to happen. We have seen on the ground what the resolve of President Trump did,' al-Ansari said. 'And we do believe through his leadership and the work Qatar has been doing to mediate through both parties we will maintain this ceasefire and push to make it more sustainable,' he added. The full interview with al-Ansari will air later Thursday on Chris Cuomo's show. Entin and al-Ansari discussed the ceasefire, Trump's brokering role, Qatari intelligence on Iran's nuclear sites and if Americans should be fearful of Iran. Qatar reportedly helped broker the ceasefire by mediating with the Iranian government, while the U.S. worked to bring Israel to the table. It has also played a key role in mediating between Israel and Hamas over the course of the war in Gaza. The Gulf nation is a strategic U.S. ally and home to an Air Force base that Iran attempted to attack earlier this week. Qatari air defenses intercepted the attack. On Thursday, in his first public comments since the ceasefire, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed victory over Israel and the U.S., downplaying the extent of the damage from airstrikes from the two countries.
The Hill
20 minutes ago
- The Hill
Don't call it health care reform if it hurts working people
Backers of the so-called 'big, beautiful bill' claim they are championing work, especially through new Medicaid work requirements. But here's the irony: That same bill would effectively take health care away from millions of Americans who are already working hard, but don't receive health insurance from their employers. Restaurant staff, small business owners, gig workers, farmers — these are the people who will be hit hardest if Congress follows through on reducing or eliminating the Affordable Care Act subsidies that help them afford coverage. These aren't the idle: These are the backbone of our economy. As a former governor who served both before and after the Affordable Care Act became law, I remember vividly what came before it: Families showing up in emergency rooms with nowhere else to go. Hospitals drowning in uncompensated care. And later, the relief so many people felt when they could finally afford insurance through the Affordable Care Act's exchanges, thanks to targeted subsidies. Those subsidies remain a lifeline today. And under the 'big, beautiful bill,' that lifeline is in jeopardy. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that if Affordable Care Act subsidies are scaled back, premiums for millions of subsidized enrollees would spike by 75 percent. That's not belt-tightening — it's price gouging for families already living paycheck to paycheck. Nearly 90 percent of Americans who purchase insurance through the exchanges receive subsidies that cut their premiums by more than $500 a month. For many, it's the only thing keeping health insurance within reach. These subsidies are not handouts. They are tax credits for people who work, pay taxes and do not have access to employer-based coverage. The program is already well-targeted. It doesn't serve those with job-based benefits. It supports those who fall through the cracks — independent contractors, early retirees, the self-employed and small business owners. In fact, nearly one in five small business owners rely on Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. If Congress allows these subsidies to expire, millions will be priced out of coverage. And the consequences will be immediate and severe: delayed care, worsening health outcomes, increased emergency room visits and financial strain on hospitals and local governments. We've seen this movie before. We should not want to see it again. The damage won't stop at the emergency room's doors. According to a recent analysis, ending the subsidies would cost the U.S. economy $34 billion and eliminate over 280,000 jobs, half of them in the healthcare sector. Rural states and communities with already-strained health systems would suffer disproportionately. This shouldn't be a partisan issue. The Affordable Care Act's premium tax credits reflect values that both sides of the aisle champion: personal responsibility, self-reliance and support for small businesses. These are not Democratic or Republican achievements. They are American ones. A public-private partnership where individuals choose their own insurance, supported by smart, limited government. If Congress is serious about promoting work, then it should not penalize working people. Every senator wants to root out waste, fraud and abuse. But cutting off health care for millions of working Americans isn't rooting out waste — it's stripping away their insurance. Let's not go backward. Let's keep health insurance affordable for people who are doing everything right — working hard, paying their share and trying to stay healthy. Jack Markell is the former governor of Delaware and former chair of the National Governors Association.
