In Michigan, 15,000 children and pregnant women poisoned by lead and other toxic chemicals in their water supply from penny-pinching austerity measures by Republican Governor Rick Snyder and his GOP colleagues in the state legislature are finally being enrolled in Medicaid. So, you know, yay.

In Oklahoma, meanwhile, 111,000 dirt-poor adults (mostly women) are being kicked to the curb thanks to...penny-pinching austerity measures by Republican Governor Mary Fallin and her GOP colleagues in the state legislature:

Just how grim the state’s budget situation has become was apparent Wednesday morning as the state House of Representatives discussed and ultimately agreed to a bill that would cut 111,000 Oklahomans, most of them women, from Medicaid.

While giving his big ACA speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin a little while ago, President Obama mentioned a few key data points: 129 million people with pre-existing conditions being protected, 140 million people who were already insured having free preventative care added, etc etc.

He also dropped one really big new number: 20 million.

That's the net increase in the number of Americans who the HHS Dept. of the United States says have gained coverage (either via ACA exchange policies, Medicaid expansion or the ACA's provision requiring policies to allow young adults between 19 - 26 years old to say on their parents plans).

The official ASPE report breaks it out as follows:

Even as I type this, President Obama is giving a big speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to congratulate them on winning the White House 20 City ACA Signup Challenge.

He was introduced by a man named Brent Brown, who had sent a letter to the President last June (I've expanded the letter itself to include the full text):

In June, I wrote this in a letter to the President:

To My President,

I sincerely hope that this reaches you, as far too often praise is hard to come by. Apologies to people who deserve it perhaps even less so.

I did not vote for you. Either time. I have voted Republican for the entirety of my life.

I proudly wore pins and planted banners displaying my Republican loyalty. I was very vocal in my opposition to you–particularly the ACA.

Andy Slavitt, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, just announced that CMS has authorized expanding Medicaid to 15,000 children and pregnant women in Flint, Michigan, as well as expanding the services provided to 30,000 current Medicaid enrollees. Here's the full press release (emphasis mine): 

HHS Approves Major Medicaid Expansion for Flint

FLINT, Mich. – Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the State of Michigan’s 1115 demonstration to extend Medicaid coverage and services to Flint residents impacted by the lead exposure. In recognition of the public health crisis in Flint, it is a top priority for the Administration and for the Department to ensure that all children and pregnant women exposed to lead in their water in Flint have access to the services they need.  Approximately 15,000 additional children and pregnant women will be eligible for Medicaid coverage and 30,000 current Medicaid beneficiaries in the area will be eligible for expanded services under this new waiver agreement.

“Expanding Medicaid coverage to tens of thousands of expectant mothers and youth means the most vulnerable citizens served by the Flint water supply can now be connected to a wide range of needed health and developmental services, including lead-blood level monitoring and behavioral health services,” said HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell.

Michigan will expand Medicaid coverage to children up to age 21 and pregnant women who were served by the Flint water system from April 2014 up to a date specified by the Governor, and who have incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL).  Michigan will also set up a state program allowing pregnant women and children up to age 21 who were served by the Flint water system and individuals with incomes above 400 percent of FPL to purchase unsubsidized coverage.  This comprehensive health and developmental coverage includes lead-blood level monitoring and behavioral health services, among other services.

So, yesterday evening, Donald Trump finally released his "terrific" healthcare plan to replace the ACA. I started to write up a full deconstruction of it, point by point...

Since March of 2010, the American people have had to suffer under the incredible economic burden of the Affordable Care Act—Obamacare.

Translation: Since March of 2010, nearly 18 million additional Americans have gained healthcare coverage, while nearly 14 million jobs have been added to the workforce.

This legislation, passed by totally partisan votes in the House and Senate and signed into law by the most divisive and partisan President in American history...

So here it is...Super Tuesday. Unless the GOP base suddenly decides that they don't want a xenophobic, misogynistic, hate-mongering, con-artist moron to be their standard-bearer, it's looking very likely that by the time midnight rolls around, Donald Drumpf will indeed be almost unstoppable as the Republican Presidential Nominee for 2016.

Which means, aside from the GOP establishment being on collective suicide watch, Mr. Drumpf will have to think about who his running mate will be for the general election.

First, the legal issues:

Last week I decided to check in on the "grandfathered/transitional plan" situation and attempted to do some crude back-of-the-envelope math to try and get a rough idea of just how many people are still enrolled in these non-compliant policies, and how many may still be enrolled in them a year and a half from now.

Last November, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) posted a whole mess of proposed ACA policy improvements for the 2017 Open Enrollment Period. They included a Public Comment period, then spent awhile reviewing all of the suggestions and making tweaks/changes to the proposals accordingly.

Just moments ago, they released the final parameters/rules for 2017...all 540 pages of it. Good grief.

Anyway, while there's a mountain of legalese to wade through here, the first one which leaps out at me is the one relating to the public Rate Review policy.

Yeah, I know it's extremely short notice, but if anyone happens to spend a half hour listening to me drone on about the whole Single Payer kerfuffle, feel free to tune into Netroots Radio tomorrow morning (Monday, Feb. 29th) at 8:00am EST, where I'm being interviewed by "Hopping Mad with Will McLeod and Arliss Bunny":

• Netroots Radio
• Hopping Mad with Will McLeod & Arliss Bunny
• iTunes Podcast
• Stitcher Podcast

SEE IMPORTANT UPDATES AT BOTTOM.

Chris Jennings is a respected healthcare policy expert who worked for the Clinton administration for over 6 years and more recently worked for President Obama for a brief stint from 2013 - 2014. Neera Tanden is the President of the Center for American Progress, but before that she was a policy advisor for Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign. Lee Fang is an investigative journalist for The Intercept whose work has been published and referenced in numerous respected national publications.

Unfortunately, Mr. Fang made a rather embarrassing false accusation the other day which he has yet to correct. [edit: see updates below]

After Scott Brown won in his election, Neera emails Hillary about secret plan to basically destroy health reform https://t.co/An008xLDjz