Chronically Ill? In Kennedyās View, It Might Be Your Own Fault
In their zeal to āMake America Healthy Again,ā top Trump administration officials depict patients and the doctors who treat them as partly responsible for whatever ails them.
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In their zeal to āMake America Healthy Again,ā top Trump administration officials depict patients and the doctors who treat them as partly responsible for whatever ails them.
Amid increasingly frequent natural disasters, several states have turned to registries to prioritize help for vulnerable residents. But while some politicians see these registries as a potential solution to a public health problem, many disability advocates say they endanger residents with mobility problems by giving a false sense of security.
A proposed work requirement would make Medicaid expansion enrollees prove theyāre working or meet other criteria. Most already work, but millions are expected to lose coverage if the provision passes, many from red tape. A Missouri mother who cares for her disabled son would probably be subject to the rule.
Spending cuts hitting medical providers, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act enrollees, and lawfully present immigrants are just some of the biggest changes the GOP has in store for health care ā with ramifications that could touch all Americans.
Republicans claim 4.8 million Americans on Medicaid who could work choose not to. The GOPās work-requirement legislation could sweep up disabled people who say theyāre unable to hold jobs.
Congressional Republicans are looking to cut at least $880 billion from a pool of federal funding that includes Medicaid ā and the program is likely to take a major hit. A previous budget crunch in Missouri offers a window into how cuts ripple through peopleās lives.
In recent weeks, Social Security has been plagued by problems related to technology, system errors, and even the marking of living people as dead.
The Trump administration defunded the National Institutes of Healthās MOSAIC grant program, which launched the careers of scientists from diverse backgrounds.
The Social Security Administration will now withhold 50% of many recipientsā monthly benefits to claw back alleged overpayments ā down from the 100% it announced in March, but way up from the 10% cap imposed under former President Joe Biden.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said this month that "autism destroys families,ā adding that āmost cases are now severeā and describing children who will never work, play baseball, write poetry, or go on a date. Medical experts and people on the autism spectrum say Kennedyās portrayal was skewed.
Federal law requires states to offer health insurance to many people with low incomes or disabilities. But some states, including California, are far more generous than whatās required. Budget pressures may force lawmakers to cut benefits that have led to a historic low in the uninsured rate.
California has unilaterally halted a court-ordered medical parole program. Instead, itās sending its most incapacitated prisoners back to state lockups or releasing them early. The change is drawing protests from attorneys representing prisoners and the author of the medical parole law, who argue prisonersā health may be compromised.
During his first news conference as Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on April 16 ticked off things he thinks kids with autism will never do, including paying taxes, holding a job, and going on a date. Kennedyās comments go against science and reality.
Although knee replacements are usually covered by health insurance, amputees face roadblocks to coverage and often must prove their prosthetics are medically necessary.
Families, nursing facilities, and home health agencies rely on foreign-born workers to fill health care jobs that are demanding and do not attract enough American citizens. The Trump administrationās anti-immigration policies threaten to cut a key source of labor for the industry, which was already predicting a surge in demand.
From halting diversity programs that benefit disabled workers to making federal staffing cuts, the Trump administration has taken a slew of actions that harm people with disabilities.
As House Republicans mull a massive $880 billion cut from federal programs likely including Medicaid, constituents, disability advocates, and health care providers are joining forces to lobby GOP members in California ā including those who represent rural, deeply conservative pockets that stand to lose the most.
Health plans limit physical or occupational therapy sessions to as few as 20 a year, no matter the patientās infirmities. The limits persist despite federal rules banning insurers from setting annual dollar limits on the care they will provide.
As politicians demand that more Medicaid recipients work, many people with disabilities say their state programsā income and asset caps force them to limit their work hours or turn down promotions.
Itās the Trump administration vs. the federal courts, as the Department of Government Efficiency continues to try to cancel federal contracts and programs and fire workers. But in the haste to cut things, jobs and programs are being eliminated even if they align with the new administrationās goal to āMake America Healthy Again.ā Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
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