Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicaid Cuts Take Center Stage In The Fight For Battleground State Voters
Politico: Medicaid Cuts Haunt Republicans In Battleground States
Democrats in battleground states seeking to flip control of Congress in November are counting on a potent weapon: the deep cuts to Medicaid that Republicans approved last year in their signature legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In recent Senate debates in Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan and South Carolina, Democratic candidates went after their opponents for supporting the law, which will reduce federal funding to the low-income health insurance program by hundreds of billions of dollars over the coming years. They also vowed to restore the money to the program if elected. (Ollstein, 10/19)
KLAS: Hospital Chaplain Aims To Win Seat In Congress To Protect Health Care
Hospital chaplain Steven St. John is running for Congress, one of three challengers to Democratic Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus in Congressional District 1. He’s not affiliated with a political party. St. John’s primary reason for running is Medicaid and the work requirements that are set to start in January. “The Medicaid cuts are coming and I have to do something about it, and being in Congress is the way to do it,” he said. (Haas, 10/19)
ProPublica: What A Ken Paxton Senate Win Could Mean For Federal Anti-Abortion Efforts
Early in his tenure as Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton issued a statement commemorating what he believed was a national tragedy. “It’s impossible to fill the void of more than 50 million missing human beings,” he said in 2016. He was marking the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that protected abortion rights — and had long stood in the way of efforts to ban terminations in early pregnancy, when most abortions occur. (Jaramillo, 10/19)
The New York Times: In Iowa, A Four-Time Paralympian Tries To Flip A Pivotal Senate Seat
Josh Turek, a two-time American gold medalist, is trying to do what no Democratic Senate candidate has done in the state since 2008: Win. Turek was born with spina bifida after his father was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and has used a wheelchair since childhood. (Tauber, 10/20)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
The Hill: Suhas Subramanyam Becomes Latest Lawmaker To Receive Suspicious White Powder
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) is the latest lawmaker to report receiving suspicious mail containing white powder in the last month. “I can confirm that my office in Leesburg received an envelope containing a suspicious substance. The office was promptly evacuated,” Subramanyam said on social platform X, adding his thanks to the Leesburg Police, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue and hazmat team and the Capitol Police for their “swift response.” “These acts of political intimidation have no place in our country,” he continued. (Bhakta, 10/19)
KFF Health News: Democrats Demand Tougher Standards For Companies Running Medicaid Systems
A group of Democratic senators is demanding that the federal agency overseeing Medicaid — the health coverage program for people with low incomes or disabilities — institute tougher standards for government contractors running complex computer systems that millions of people rely on to get benefits. Three Democratic senators issued recommendations a year after launching an inquiry into companies — Deloitte, General Dynamics Information Technology, Gainwell Technologies, and Conduent — that are paid billions in taxpayer dollars to build or run eligibility systems for safety net health coverage. (Liss and Pradhan, 10/20)
