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It’s been more than a year since President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and SNAP enrollment is down more than 20% in Louisiana. Anti-hunger groups say far more people could lose access if states are required to cover more of the food program’s cost.
In most states, people with Medicaid coverage will have to prove they’re working, volunteering, or studying starting Jan. 1. But Montana put the rules into effect early, and they’re sowing uncertainty and anxiety.
Some states have considered barring companies that own a PBM from also owning brick-and-mortar pharmacies, as CVS does. Two states have followed through. A similar proposal at the federal level has gained prominent sponsors, aligning conservative, business-friendly Republicans with Democrats traditionally more open to government regulation.
A federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump can’t unilaterally kill the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act, but he also sided with the administration by saying using race as a factor in awarding the grants is unconstitutional. The split decision has halted digital-skills programs for ethnic and racial minorities.
Coverage for hundreds of thousands of Arkansas Medicaid enrollees next year is in question after the Trump administration refused to renew a key state waiver. The state might not be the last to have to adjust to an arcane rule change under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
North Carolina and other states have embraced “I Gave Birth” wristbands as a way to encourage women to seek help when they have postpartum complications. They’re gaining steam as the Trump administration’s cuts to Medicaid threaten postpartum care.
Conservatives who have long pushed for Medicaid work requirements often said vulnerable people would get a pass. But the federal government’s list of exemptions left off homeless people.
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
From screwworm to flesh-eating bacteria, mounting public health risks are emerging in the wake of deep cuts to federal health agencies and programs.
Four years after the Volunteer State enacted the nation’s first law allowing drugstores to sell ivermectin without patient-specific prescriptions, dozens of pharmacies dispense the drug in highly concentrated pills — many with the help of one anti-vaccine physician.
The Trump administration has laid out what millions of Americans on Medicaid must do to prove they’re working or completing other activities. Health policy researchers and consumer advocates say there are some important takeaways.
A KFF survey of state Medicaid officials offers insight into lingering uncertainty and differing plans for work requirement implementation as the Jan. 1 deadline approaches.
Florida is not mandated to add work requirements for Medicaid, because the state has not expanded eligibility to more low-income adults. But lawmakers have proposed requiring some adults in the state’s program to work anyway, a policy that could leave many uninsured.
Republicans have said new rules requiring many Medicaid participants to work 80 hours a month will pinpoint unemployed young people who should have jobs. Policy researchers say the rules are more likely to disrupt coverage for middle-aged adults, harming their physical and financial health.
Programs like Jamboree Housing Corp. have leveraged Medi-Cal funding to offer residents access to social services that experts say are key to keeping them off the streets. California intends to keep it that way, despite federal cuts.
Some patients who had liposuction or other surgeries later required emergency hospital care — and some died, court records show.
The Trump administration wants deep funding cuts for state-based legal services for disabled people, as rights advocates say the Justice Department pushed out many of its lawyers who worked on such issues.
Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.
People on Medicaid deemed “medically frail” won’t need to meet new federal requirements that enrollees work 80 hours a month or perform another approved activity. But state officials are grappling with how to interpret who qualifies under the vague federal definition, which could affect millions.
Amid public forums and local cries for help, states are also talking with large health systems, technology companies, and others amid intensifying competition for shares of a $50 billion fund to improve rural health.
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