The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of the Treasury, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have issued new guidance that will make it easier for states to get waivers from certain mandates under Section 1332 of the so-called “Affordable Care Act,” also known as the “ACA” or “ObamaCare.” The goal of the new guidance is to provide consumers with more private insurance options in the nongroup health insurance market.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to vote NO on the Resolution to Undo the Expansion of Short-Term Limited Duration Health Plans, S.J.Res. 63, sponsored by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.). The resolution would use the Congressional Review Act to overturn a rule issued earlier this year by the Trump administration that expanded consumer access to short-term, limited-duration (STLD) health plans. STLD plans offer some of the only relief to consumers have as of now from ObamaCare’s Title I regulations that have driven health insurance costs through the roof.

On behalf of FreedomWorks activists nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and senators ask them to support and co-sponsor the Retirement Freedom Act, H.R. 6703 and S. 3560, introduced by Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). The bill would decouple Social Security benefits from Medicare Part A enrollment, allowing individuals if they so choose to to opt out of Medicare Part A without losing access to their Social Security benefits.

FreedomWorks is proud to honor Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) as the member of the month for October 2018. He serves in the House of Representatives for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, located in the southwest corner of the state.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act achieved many goals. It delivered a historic reform of the individual tax code, lowered individual and corporate tax rates, and boosted economic growth. Indeed, the United States’ economy will most likely see 3 percent annual growth this year for the first time since 2005.

On Wednesday, the Senate voted on an amendment offered by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to the most recent minibus, H.R. 6147, that would have prohibited the use of funds to carry out the individual health insurance mandate recently passed by D.C. Council. Noncompliance with D.C.’s individual mandate could result in the seizure of private property.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury have released a final rule that expands short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. The rule, which will be published on Friday and take effect in 60 days, will expand these plans to 12 months from three months and allow renewability for up to 36 months.

Update: H.R. 6311 has been posted to the House Rules Committee's website. The bill is the vehicle for the Increasing Access to Lower Premium Plans and Expanding Health Savings Accounts Act. The bill now includes the text of H.R. 6313, H.R. 6306, H.R. 6309, H.R. 6314, and H.R. 5963. Although the bill still expands the eligibility for catastrophic health plans to individuals older than 30, the language that would expand ObamaCare's premium tax has been removed.

If one were to ask any grassroots conservative or libertarian activist if congressional Republicans should take another shot at ObamaCare repeal, he or she would say undoubtedly say, “Yes!” Last year’s failure to pass a health insurance reform bill made many in the grassroots community angry, and understandably so.