Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Can Medicaid’s Popularity Shield It From the Budget Ax?
Republicans in Congress have suggested big cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The complex, multifaceted program touches millions of Americans and has become deeply woven into state budgets and the U.S. health care system.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Medicaid in the Crosshairs, Maybe
President Donald Trump has said he won’t support major cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program for people with low incomes, but he has endorsed a House budget plan that calls for major cuts, leaving the program’s future in doubt. Meanwhile, thousands of workers at the Department of Health and Human Services were fired over the holiday weekend, from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with possibly more cuts to come.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Republicans Are Eyeing Cuts to Medicaid. What’s Medicaid, Again?
Republicans in Congress have suggested big cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The complex, multifaceted program touches millions of Americans and has become deeply woven into state budgets and the U.S. health care system.
Los republicanos están considerando recortes a Medicaid. De nuevo, ¿qué es Medicaid?
Más de 79 millones de personas reciben servicios de Medicaid o del relacionado Programa de Seguro de Salud Infantil (CHIP). Esto representa aproximadamente el 20% de la población total de Estados Unidos.
Deny and Delay? California Seeks Penalties for Insurers That Repeatedly Get It Wrong
A state lawmaker wants health insurers to disclose denial rates and explain those denials as anger grows over rising costs and uncovered medical care. If the bill is signed into law, health experts say, it could be one of the boldest attempts in the nation to rein in denials.
Pain Clinics Made Millions From ‘Unnecessary’ Injections Into ‘Human Pin Cushions’
Pain MD, which once ran as many as 20 clinics across three states, gave chronic-pain patients about 700,000 total injections near their spines, according to court documents. Last year, federal prosecutors proved at trial that the shots were medically unnecessary and part of an extensive fraud scheme.
Iowa Medicaid Sends $4M Bills to Two Families Grieving Deaths of Loved Ones With Disabilities
States are required to claw back health care costs from the estates of many Medicaid recipients. Some, including Iowa, are particularly aggressive in their pursuit.
As States Mull Medicaid Work Requirements, Two With Experience Scale Back
As Republicans consider adding work requirements to Medicaid, Georgia and Arkansas — two states with experience running such programs — want to scale back the key parts supporters have argued encourage employment and personal responsibility.
A Dose of Love: The Winning Health Policy Valentines
KFF Health News shares our favorite reader-submitted health policy valentines. One struck us in the heart and inspired an original cartoon.
Nueva ley ofrece atención médica a jóvenes que salen de la cárcel
A pesar de la alta tasa de problemas de salud mental y trastornos por adicciones en esta población, muchas veces regresan a sus comunidades sin cobertura, lo que aumenta sus posibilidades de morir o sufrir una recaídas.
Some Incarcerated Youths Will Get Health Care After Release Under New Law
It’s common for young people leaving jails and prisons to end up back behind bars, often after lapses related to untreated mental health issues or substance abuse. A new law is aimed at getting them on Medicaid before they’re released. But the government coordination required to make it happen is significant.
Officials Seek To Dismantle Appeals Board for Montanans Denied Public Assistance
The Montana health department says the Board of Public Assistance is redundant and a bureaucratic hurdle that helps few people. Current and former board representatives say the rare cases in which the panel helps people are important.
Wash, Dry, Enroll: Finding Medicaid Help at the Laundromat
State Medicaid and Affordable Care Act programs have long struggled to connect with lower-income Americans to help them access care. Now some are trying an alternative approach: meeting them at the laundromat.
Indiana Governor Appoints Business Leader To Shake Up Health Care
Gloria Sachdev, a pharmacist by training, has spent years taking on the health care establishment in Indiana, working to pull down high hospital prices and make information public to patients. Now, in a newly created position in the governor’s Cabinet, she’s no longer fighting from the outside.
Most Insurance Covers IUDs. Hers Cost More Than $14,000.
The Affordable Care Act requires most insurance plans to cover preventive care, including many forms of contraception, without cost to patients — but not if they’re “grandfathered” plans, which predate the law.
Trump’s Funding ‘Pause’ Throws States, Health Industry Into Chaos
A sweeping Trump administration order threw the nation’s health system into disarray Tuesday, as states and the health industry tried to make sense of what looked like a freeze on federal Medicaid funding.
Covered California Hits Record Enrollment, but Key Subsidies in Jeopardy
Enhanced federal subsidies and more state aid for out-of-pocket costs have made health insurance purchased through California’s marketplace more affordable. It’s unclear if the incoming Republican Congress will extend the enhanced subsidies beyond 2025.
Covered California alcanza récord de inscripciones, pero peligran subsidios clave
La principal preocupación de los funcionarios de Covered California es la inminente expiración de los subsidios federales adicionales para pagar las primas de los seguros.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Hello, Trump. Bye-Bye, Biden.
With just days to go before the official launch of a new administration, the GOP-led Congress is putting together plans on how to enact incoming President Donald Trump’s agenda, with a particular emphasis on cutting spending on the Medicaid program. Meanwhile, the Biden administration makes major moves in its last days, including banning a controversial food dye and ordering cigarette companies to minimize their nicotine content. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Harris Meyer, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News “Bill of the Month” feature, about a colonoscopy that came with a much larger price tag than estimated.
New California Laws Target Medical Debt, AI Care Decisions, Detention Centers
California has a few major changes coming to its health policy landscape in 2025. New laws that took effect Jan. 1 ban medical debt from credit reports, allow public health inspections of private immigration detention centers, and ban toxic chemicals in makeup.
