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Congressional Republicans are pushing plans that could make deep cuts to Medicaid to finance President Donald Trumpās tax cuts and other priorities. At stake is coverage for millions of low-income Americans, as well as a huge revenue source for hospitals ā and every state.
As Republicans consider adding work requirements to Medicaid, Georgia and Arkansas ā two states with experience running such programs ā want to scale back the key parts supporters have argued encourage employment and personal responsibility.
Frustrated by spiraling drug costs, California lawmakers want to increase oversight of pharmaceutical industry intermediaries known as pharmacy benefit managers. Itās unclear whether they can persuade Gov. Gavin Newsom to get on board.
In several red states, officials say few or no abortions happened in 2023, raising alarm among researchers about the politicization of vital statistics.
Controversy over raw milk reflects the push-pull the Trump administration faces in rolling back regulations and offering consumers more choices. For now, the CDC still recommends against consuming raw milk and the FDA bans its interstate sale.
The number of new and returning enrollees using healthcare.gov ā the federal marketplace that serves 31 states ā is well below last yearās as of early December. Also, a Biden administration push to give āDreamersā access to Obamacare coverage and subsidies is facing court challenges.
A federal judge sided with 19 states seeking an injunction against a Biden administration rule allowing recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to enroll in Affordable Care Act coverage and qualify for subsidies amid the annual open enrollment period.
About 3.7 million people are at immediate risk of losing health coverage should the federal government cut funding for Medicaid expansions, as some allies of President-elect Donald Trump have proposed. Coverage could be at risk in the 40 states that have expanded Medicaid.
Florida discovered a glitch in its Deloitte-run Medicaid eligibility system. The problem, alleged in court testimony, led to new mothers wrongly losing their insurance coverage.
Small-town doctors may not offer IUDs and hormonal implants because the devices require training to administer and are expensive to stock.
Clinics in states where most abortions are legal, such as Kansas and Illinois, are reporting an influx of inquiries from patients hundreds of miles away ā and are expanding in response. Despite the Supreme Courtās overturning of federal protections in 2022, abortions are now at their highest numbers in a decade.
Federal law requires states to provide pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage through 60 days after delivery. Arkansas has not expanded whatās called postpartum Medicaid coverage, an option that gives poor women uninterrupted health insurance for a year after they give birth.
Georgia must decide soon whether to try to extend a limited Medicaid expansion that requires participants to work. Enrollment fell far short of goals in the first year, and the state isnāt yet able to verify participants are working.
Ten states have not expanded Medicaid, leaving 1.5 million people ineligible for the state and federal insurance program and also unable to afford private insurance. Seven of those states are in the South, where expansion efforts may have momentum but where lawmakers say political polarization is holding them back.
State lawmakers are advancing two bills aimed at protecting children from the harms of social media, part of a nationwide wave of efforts to address the issue. Yet the billsā proponents face hurdles in finding an approach that can survive legal challenges from the tech industry.
The technology has generated notices with errors, sent Medicaid paperwork to the wrong addresses, and been frozen for hours at a time, according to state audits, court documents, and interviews. While it can take months to fix problems, Americaās poorest residents pay the price.
President Joe Biden is campaigning for reelection on his efforts to cut costs for Medicare patients at the pharmacy counter. But independent pharmacists say one strategy makes it unaffordable for them to keep some brand-name medicines in stock.
Florida has served as a haven for Southern pregnant women with little or no access to abortions. But the Florida Supreme Court upheld a six-week abortion restriction that begins in May ā so now women across much of the South seeking abortions will have to look farther afield.
For more than 20 years, children in Arkansas have been measured in school as part of a statewide effort to reduce childhood obesity. But the letters have had no impact on weight loss ā and obesity rates have risen. Still, the practice of sending letters has spread to other states.
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