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An uptick in people skipping Obamacare premium payments in many states suggests the Affordable Care Actās rising costs ā driven partly by lower subsidies to help people buy plans ā are hitting home for 2026 enrollees. The trend adds to voter concerns about affordability ahead of the midterm elections.
Some states bar professional midwives from attending home births if they donāt have a nursing license. Their advocates say laws to allow midwife licensing would make home birth safer and more accessible, plus help address a maternity care shortage.
Several states have required their health agencies to take on another job: verifying immigration status among Medicaid recipients and reporting them to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. North Carolina is the latest to pass such a law, and experts expect more to follow.
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.
A $50 billion federal fund is supposed to modernize rural health with electronic health records, AI, telehealth, and more. But community clinics and rural health advocates fear that the contractors administering the money for states will bite off a big chunk before it reaches rural patients.
With shortages of medical professionals and an aging population, thousands of community healthcare workers prevent older adults from falling through the cracks.
The costs of posttreatment care are forcing cancer survivors to make tough choices. GOP proposals to bring down health insurance costs wonāt help people who need constant care and monitoring, health policy researchers and patient advocates say.
Montana health officials say theyāre seeking to add doula services to the stateās Medicaid program, reversing a previous statement that they would ānot be moving forwardā amid a budget shortfall.
³Ō¹Ļ²»“ņģČ journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Hereās a collection of their appearances.
Starting next year, about 18.5 million adults will be subject to new Medicaid work rules in 42 states and Washington, D.C. Applicants must show theyāve been working for at least a month before receiving benefits. Some Republican-controlled states want to triple the required work period.
A rural Nebraska dialysis unit that was hemorrhaging money closed, upending patientsā lives. Thatās despite a federal rural health program that granted the state more than $200 million this year to improve health care in rural communities.
As President Donald Trumpās heightened immigration enforcement continues across the country, some states are updating temporary guardianship laws to keep the children of detained and deported immigrants out of state custody.
Some states already donāt have enough staff to quickly process Medicaid applications and answer enrolleesā phone calls. Researchers say they may not be prepared to handle new Medicaid work rules, predicting people will lose coverage as a result.
When the only clinic that offered abortions in Michiganās rural Upper Peninsula closed, an urgent care facility stepped in to fill the gap. Now, others are considering similar moves as brick-and-mortar clinics close in blue states.
Montana was on track to start reimbursing doulas, who support new and expectant parents, through Medicaid this year. But state officials halted that plan amid a budget shortfall. Other such services deemed optional under Medicaid are at risk nationwide as states brace for federal cuts.
This week, the CDC began to publish long-awaited data that will reveal the extent of measlesā comeback. While applauding the science, researchers say the Trump administration has done little to contain the virus. āThat weāre even talking about this is nuts,ā one virologist said.
Federal health officials have ordered states to reverify the immigration status of hundreds of thousands of Medicaid enrollees. After seven months, findings from five states show the reviews have uncovered few immigrants without legal status who are improperly receiving benefits.
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 administration has largely converted the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement into an arm of immigration enforcement, detaining children longer while helping immigration officers arrest their parents or other family members. One father was chained when he went to an ICE office to discuss being reunited with his son and daughter.
The number doctors use to demarcate high blood pressure keeps going down, a trend applauded by many experts, who point to studies linking the condition and dementia.
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