Give and Take: Federal Rural Health Funding Could Trigger Service Cuts
States are rolling out plans for their share of a $50 billion fund meant to improve rural health care. In some states, the money may provoke rural hospitals to cut services.
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States are rolling out plans for their share of a $50 billion fund meant to improve rural health care. In some states, the money may provoke rural hospitals to cut services.
The Trump administration鈥檚 unprecedented actions targeting Medicaid funding in Minnesota are part of what could become a playbook as officials turn pressure toward California, Florida, Maine, and New York.
Trump administration officials say the state allows rampant fraud and have promised to investigate, blaming the 鈥淩ussian, Armenian mafia鈥 in the hospice and home health care industry. But data shows hotbeds of health care fraud throughout the country, with California outperforming most other states in recovering fraud dollars.
Some researchers and recovery advocates see the NET device as the latest in a series of products pitched as the solution to the addiction crisis that have been overhyped to capitalize on money from the opioid settlements.
Across California and the nation, health providers, advocates, local officials, and state legislators are eyeing tax increases to offset a loss of more than $900 billion in federal Medicaid dollars as a result of the GOP鈥檚 One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In Los Angeles County, community clinics have banded together in support of a half-cent sales tax.
Last summer, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge by health insurers to reform prior authorization, which often requires patients or their doctors to seek preapproval from insurers before proceeding with medical care. Patient advocates and medical providers remain skeptical.
Crystalline silica, which is released into the air when workers cut and polish engineered stone, can scar human lungs beyond repair. Kitchen countertops made with this stone have triggered an increased rate of this fatal illness, doctors say.
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鈥檚 program to work anyway, a policy that could leave many uninsured.
Scientists are cheering California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he builds a public health bulwark against health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 anti-vaccine stance and President Donald Trump鈥檚 withdrawal from the World Health Organization. Still, federal cuts have sapped morale and left local health departments less prepared for outbreaks.
Iowa patient advocates say that in the face of federal Medicaid cuts, the state is quietly reducing in-home services that help people avoid being institutionalized. National groups are bracing for similar cuts elsewhere.
President Donald Trump鈥檚 immigration crackdown in Minneapolis forced families into hiding and catalyzed informal medical networks to deliver critical health care services.
Some Republican state lawmakers and state health associations are pushing back against spending plans under the Trump administration鈥檚 $50 billion federal rural health fund. Federal administrators already approved states鈥 plans, but in many cases, state lawmakers must greenlight spending.
Congress and the Trump administration are rolling back some lead remediation resources. Case studies of two cities and a state that faced lead contamination problems could give cash-strapped cities ideas of how to address such pollution themselves.
More than three dozen states cover dental services for low-income and disabled individuals on Medicaid, in recognition of such care鈥檚 importance to overall health. But with about $900 billion in funding cuts expected to hit states over the next decade, many programs could roll back dental coverage.
Idaho is positioning to slash Medicaid funding as state lawmakers grapple with the effects of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last year. On the table are in-home care services.
A growing body of evidence indicates that immigrants in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement face medical consequences because of serious gaps in basic health care services. It鈥檚 adding to the political backlash against the Trump administration鈥檚 aggressive deportation policies.
In Georgia, a high number of callers to the 988 crisis line hang up or disconnect before reaching a counselor. Many other calls are transferred out of state.
States facing yawning budget shortfalls have begun cutting Medicaid reimbursements for a wide variety of services. In some states, dramatic cuts are targeting therapies that many families of autistic people say are essential to caring for their loved ones.
Columbia Memorial Hospital near Oregon鈥檚 coastline planned to add a tsunami shelter, counting on a FEMA grant. After the Trump administration cut the funding, hospital officials are building anyway, saying waiting is too risky. A judge ruled Dec. 11 that the administration unlawfully ended the program without congressional approval.
People on Medicaid deemed 鈥渕edically frail鈥 won鈥檛 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.
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