Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Wake Of Work Requirements, Missouri Sees 7.5% Drop In Food Stamp Use
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Food Stamp Use Drops After 'Big Beautiful Bill'
One year after the Republican-led Congress imposed new work requirements for adults receiving food stamps, the number of low-income Missourians who use the program has dropped by nearly 50,000. (Erickson, 7/29)
Stat: Healthy Until Proven Sick: Medicaid Work Rules Threaten Patient Care
Starting next week, Nebraskans on Medicaid will be at risk of losing their health coverage unless the state can verify that they work, volunteer, or attend school for 80 hours per month. Come January, millions of other low-income Americans will face the same cliff. (Cueto, 7/30)
Healthcare policies in an election year —
The Colorado Sun: John Hickenlooper’s Plan For Universal Healthcare? First Make The Prices Transparent
Here’s a costly pop quiz: If you’re delivering a baby at, let’s say, HCA HealthONE Rose Medical Center in Denver, how much is it going to cost? If you answered “It depends” or, ultimately, “I don’t know,” you win the game but also understand one way consumers lose in the healthcare system. (Ingold, 7/29)
ProPublica: Andy Beshear Doubles Down On Widely Criticized Medicaid Policy
By the end of 2020, Kentucky’s newly elected Gov. Andy Beshear had one goal above all others: Keep people alive. The state was battling two merciless threats. COVID-19 was killing hundreds of people each month, and deadly drug overdoses were among the highest in the nation. Calling addiction a disease that breeds in isolation, Beshear worried people would stop seeking treatment for fear of contracting COVID-19. (Acquisto and Six, 7/30)
KFF Health News: Medicaid Insurers’ Contracts On The Line In Tight Governor’s Race
One of America’s most competitive gubernatorial races could settle a heated argument over whether private insurance companies should run Medicaid. The race is in Iowa, whose Medicaid program has been plagued with controversy since 2016, when the state hired national insurance companies to manage billions of dollars’ worth of benefits. That shift was made by then-Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican. With his executive order, Iowa joined most other states in privatizing the management of Medicaid, which covers healthcare for more than 67 million Americans with low incomes or disabilities. (Leys, 7/30)
