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Morning Briefing

Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

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Thursday, Oct 4 2018

Full Issue

'People Are Making Life-And-Death Decisions': 'Public Charge' Policy Fears Keep Immigrants From Seeking Benefits

The Trump administration's new policy to expand the parameters of what constitutes a public charge when considering green card applications is causing some immigrants to just forgo government aid altogether.

The Associated Press: Immigrants Refuse Aid For Fear It Will Doom Green Card Hopes

When she was struggling financially this past year, Laura Peniche traveled all over Denver to get free food from churches to feed her three young children. She was too scared to apply for government food assistance. When she was offered a chance a few weeks ago to get a reduced-rent apartment through a city program, she turned it down. Instead, she stretches her budget to pay several hundred dollars a month more to rent somewhere else. (Hajela and Long, 10/3)

In other news coming out of the Trump administration —

Boston Globe: Here’s An Idea To Improve The SNAP Program

Modifying the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to encourage better food choices could improve recipients’ health and cut billions of dollars in health care costs, according to researchers at Tufts and Harvard. The anti-hunger program, once commonly known as the food stamp program, provides $70 billion each year for low-wage working families, low-income seniors, and disabled people to buy food, Tufts said in a statement. (Finucane, 10/3)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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