Tag

#healthcare

Incidents affecting the right to health, including cuts to healthcare programs, denial of medical treatment, dismantlement of public health infrastructure, and policies creating barriers to medical access.

7 incidents

Updated May 20, 2026 Foreign Policy & War
War Crime / Crime Against Humanity Ongoing

Attacks on Iranian Healthcare Facilities: WHO Verifies 18 Strikes on Hospitals and Medical Infrastructure

A sustained pattern of strikes on Iranian hospitals, ambulances, and medical infrastructure has killed healthcare workers and forced the evacuation of six hospitals. The WHO verified 18 attacks on health sites through mid-March 2026, documenting systematic damage to protected medical facilities including Gandhi Hospital and Iranian Red Crescent centers. The pattern continued through the April 7 ceasefire, and HRW documented further strikes through the ceasefire period in its April 2026 report.

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13
hospital attackshealthcareGeneva ConventionsIran warwar crimes
Updated March 25, 2026 Foreign Policy & War
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing

Intensified Cuba Sanctions Regime: Blackouts, Hospital Shutdowns, and Collective Punishment

The systematically intensified US sanctions regime against Cuba has caused 20-hour blackouts, hospital closures, medication shortages for 5 million chronically ill people, and collapse of essential services. UN experts condemned the measures as collective punishment of civilians.

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8
Cubasanctionshumanitarian crisiscollective punishmentblackouts
Rule of Law
Major Abuse of Power

ACA Repeal Failure: Skinny Repeal Defeated, 23 Million Would Have Lost Coverage

The Republican-led repeal effort over seven months produced several bills that the CBO estimated would cause tens of millions of Americans to lose health insurance. The final attempt — 'skinny repeal' — was a bill so limited in scope that even its Republican proponents did not want it to become law; its stated purpose was to pass something into conference. John McCain, who had returned from brain cancer treatment to cast the deciding vote, gave a thumbs-down at 1:30 AM to defeat the bill 51-49. Trump's response was to blame Republicans and to threaten to withhold the cost-sharing reduction payments that stabilized the ACA market, causing premiums to rise.

Sources
4
ACAhealthcareMcCainrepealfirst-term
Updated December 18, 2019 Federal Dismantlement
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

ACA Repeal Failures and Sabotage: Losing 51-49, Then Dismantling Piece by Piece

The administration's attempt to repeal and replace the ACA failed through three separate legislative vehicles: the American Health Care Act (AHCA) passed the House but died in the Senate; the Better Care Reconciliation Act failed to advance in the Senate; and the 'skinny repeal' (Health Care Freedom Act) failed 51-49 when McCain, Murkowski, and Collins voted against it. Following legislative failure, the administration cut the Navigator program (enrollment assistance) from $63 million to $10 million, reduced the open enrollment window, and created an association of short-term health plans that could deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. Termination of cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers triggered premium increases and a complex subsidy dynamic that ultimately cost the government more than the payments themselves.

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4
ACAhealthcarerepealfirst-termfederal-dismantlement
Updated November 1, 2020 Federal Dismantlement
War Crime / Crime Against Humanity

ACA Sabotage: Deliberate Undermining of Health Insurance for Millions

Having failed to repeal the ACA legislatively (defeated by the 51-49 Senate vote, including John McCain's thumbs-down), the Trump administration used regulatory and administrative mechanisms to undermine it: eliminating the individual mandate penalty, cutting navigator and outreach funding from $63 million to $10 million, supporting a lawsuit arguing the entire ACA was unconstitutional, and expanding short-term health plans that excluded pre-existing conditions. CBO projected these actions would cause 10-13 million people to lose insurance.

Sources
5
ACAhealthcareObamacarehealth-insurancefirst-term