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Rising premiums forced many people in Affordable Care Act plans to give up their coverage. But the Trump administration claims a huge drop in enrollment is almost entirely due to its fraud crackdown.
The Democratic candidate for governor says he would make Iowa the second state to drop private Medicaid management companies, which he calls 鈥渁 disaster.鈥
A new report finds that participation in the federal food stamp program is down far more than was predicted when the Republican-led Congress approved cuts in 2025. That portends a similar fate for Medicaid, as states ready comparable changes. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss the news. Also, as part of the 鈥淗ow Would You Fix It?鈥 series, Rovner interviews GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
Complex computer systems that decide whether people, including the disabled, get Medicaid benefits have a history of errors. Now changes to comply with Trump鈥檚 signature tax and domestic policy law are inundating those systems.
Final regulations on Medicaid work requirements say enrollees must regularly obtain documentation 鈥 possibly from medical professionals 鈥 to prove that they鈥檙e too sick to work. Doctors say the rules put them in a tough spot.
Most of the federal Medicaid cuts don鈥檛 take effect until 2027, but many states are already cutting budgets in anticipation of getting fewer health dollars from Washington. Meanwhile, Congress is back from break, but progress on legislative priorities remains slow. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. And as part of the 鈥淗ow Would You Fix It?鈥 series, Rovner interviews Elizabeth Mitchell of the Purchaser Business Group on Health.
A ballot measure to eliminate Missouri鈥檚 income tax would give the state legislature broad authority to levy new sales taxes to replace the lost revenue. Critics say that could mean adding a sales tax on medical services or prescription medicines. Those types of taxes are unusual, but not unheard of, in the U.S.
With the federal Medicaid work requirements looming in January, Democrats are considering state legislation to call out big companies that employ workers enrolled in the safety net health program. Business giants such as Amazon and Walmart said the figures are misleading.
Republicans say California鈥檚 use of Medicaid money for social services amounts to waste, fraud, and abuse. But even as Gov. Gavin Newsom voices concern about losing funding, he says he鈥檚 proud of the state鈥檚 holistic approach to caring for its sickest and most expensive patients.
New Medicaid work requirements could make a complex system even harder for farmworkers to navigate.
Over the past 70 years, the number of inpatient psychiatric beds has dropped dramatically, leaving many without critical care when they experience mental health crises. I was one of the lucky ones to get a bed 鈥 after 21 hours of waiting.
A work requirement is coming to Medicaid. Sam Whitehead tells WAMU鈥檚 鈥淗ealth Hub鈥 how to keep your coverage 鈥 and who鈥檚 exempt from the new rule.
California鈥檚 next governor will face tough decisions on a highly controversial piece of healthcare policy: what to do about health coverage for the more than 1.4 million low-income residents without legal status. Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton present starkly different choices as public opinion wavers.
The Trump administration鈥檚 cuts to Medicaid and SNAP may complicate Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo鈥檚 reelection chances.
With the fiscal year mostly over, hundreds of millions of dollars in health-related grants approved by Congress still have not reached their designated recipients, with the Trump administration again delaying distribution. Meanwhile, on the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that allowed states to ban abortion, the number of abortions in the U.S. is actually rising. Maya Goldman of Axios, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Rachana Pradhan of 吃瓜不打烊 join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
鈥淕overnment has to intervene, because healthcare is run like an unregulated utility,鈥 Indiana鈥檚 GOP governor says of the state鈥檚 effort to regulate hospital prices.
The Trump administration has laid out what millions of Americans on Medicaid must do to prove they鈥檙e working or completing other activities. Health policy researchers and consumer advocates say there are some important takeaways.
As predicted, the expiration of enhanced tax subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans is causing many people to lose coverage for failing to make premium payments. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded angrily to a New York Times article suggesting he鈥檚 not actively engaged in the work of his sprawling department. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF鈥檚 Tricia Neuman, who is retiring this month as a senior vice president and the executive director of the Program on Medicare Policy.
One of California鈥檚 largest healthcare unions is sponsoring two initiatives that would regulate community clinics and cap executive and managerial pay at hospitals and physician groups. In the most recent eruption of a long-standing feud, the measures have drawn fierce opposition from a wide swath of the medical industry.
Big cuts to healthcare programs in the 2025 GOP budget law are creating an affordability crunch for many Americans: Higher health insurance premiums. Confusion about who Medicaid will cover under the new rules. 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explains how the changes could leave nearly 2 million children uninsured.
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