Medicaid

Latest KFF Health News Stories

With ICE Using Medicaid Data, Hospitals and States Are in a Bind Over Warning Immigrant Patients

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration’s move to give deportation officials access to Medicaid data is forcing hospitals and states to consider alerting immigrant patients that information from emergency medical coverage applications could be used in efforts to remove them from the country.

Newsom Walks Thin Line on Immigrant Health as He Eyes Presidential Bid

KFF Health News Original

Progressives are assailing Gov. Gavin Newsom for proposing to pull back coverage for some legal residents, such as refugees and asylum-seekers, while conservatives lambaste the California Democrat for using limited state funds on Medicaid coverage for immigrants without legal status.

It’s 2026 and You’re Uninsured. Now What?

KFF Health News Original

Many Americans are expected to lose ACA or Medicaid coverage in coming months and years as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the expiration of enhanced pandemic-era subsidies that helped people afford Obamacare plans. Doctors and researchers say there are still ways to find affordable care.

Es 2026 y no tienes seguro médico. ¿Y ahora qué?

KFF Health News Original

Los cambios en las políticas de salud en Washington están teniendo repercusiones en todo el país y haciendo que millones de personas pierdan su cobertura de Medicaid o de ACA. Pero hay opciones.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: The Hazards of ICE for Public Health

Podcast

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is not just roiling politics but also directly affecting the provision of health care, medical groups say. Meanwhile, in Washington, federal spending bills have been stalled by the fight over immigration enforcement funding after the shooting death of a second person in Minneapolis this month. Maya Goldman of Axios, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.

Medicaid Tries New Approach With Sickle Cell: Companies Get Paid Only if Costly Gene Therapies Work

KFF Health News Original

The government is using sickle cell treatments to test a new strategy: paying only if the therapies benefit patients. With more expensive treatments on the horizon, the program — created by the Biden administration and continued under President Trump — could help Medicaid save money and treat more patients.

Los pagos de Medicaid por el tratamiento de la anemia falciforme dependerán de su éxito

KFF Health News Original

Actualmente hay dos terapias génicas aprobadas por la FDA, con costos de $2,2 millones por paciente en un caso y $3,1 millones en el otro, sin incluir el gasto de la hospitalización prolongada que requieren.

GOP Cuts Will Cripple Medicaid Enrollment, Warns CEO of Largest Public Health Plan

KFF Health News Original

Martha Santana-Chin, a daughter of Mexican immigrants, last year took the helm of L.A. Care, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan. She warns that looming federal cuts will push up to 650,000 people off L.A. Care’s Medicaid rolls by the end of 2028.

States Race To Launch Rural Health Transformation Plans

KFF Health News Original

Every state will receive at least $100 million annually from the federal Rural Health Transformation fund, but some scored millions more based on how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services judged the “quality” of their plans and willingness to pass policies embracing “Make America Healthy Again” initiatives.

This California Strategy Safeguarded Some Medicaid Social Services Funding From Trump

KFF Health News Original

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.

Nuevas alternativas para resolver la crisis del cuidado de salud en casa

KFF Health News Original

El cuidado en el hogar ya es una de las ocupaciones de más rápido crecimiento en el país: el año pasado había 3,2 millones de asistentes de salud en el hogar y de cuidado personal, frente a 1,4 millones una década atrás.

Millions of Americans Are Expected To Drop Their Affordable Care Act Plans. They’re Looking for a Plan B.

KFF Health News Original

An estimated 4.8 million people are expected to go without health coverage because Congress did not extend enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans. But even without a health plan, people will need medical care in 2026. Many of them have been thinking through their plan B to maintain their health.

California Ends Medicaid Coverage of Weight Loss Drugs Despite TrumpRx Plan

KFF Health News Original

Low-income Californians who use Wegovy and similar medications for weight loss lost their coverage at the start of the new year, with officials advising diet and exercise instead. California and other states say the drugs are too costly, even as the Trump administration announces plans to lower prices.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: New Year, Same Health Fight

Podcast

Congress returned from its break facing a familiar question: whether to extend the expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans that expired at the end of 2025. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. broke a promise to Bill Cassidy, the chairman of Senate health committee, by overhauling the federal government’s childhood vaccine schedule to reduce the number of diseases for which vaccines will be recommended. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.