Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Health Care Costs Jump to the Fore as Candidates Jockey To Be California Governor

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

During a California gubernatorial debate, candidates promised to protect people’s access to health care and fight back against Trump administration cuts. With the contest a year away, polling shows voters want the next governor to minimize out-of-pocket health care costs, increase mental health care, and expand caregiving services.

Shutdown Has Highlighted Washington’s Retreat From Big Ideas on Health Care

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

As voters feel financial pressure from runaway health care costs and crave innovations that would provide relief, the standoff in Congress has been firmly rooted in the status quo — keeping an existing provision of the Affordable Care Act alive.

Journalists Shed Light on Opioid Settlement Cash, New Medicaid Work Requirements

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Gobierno de Trump ordena a programas estatales de Medicaid que ayuden a identificar a inmigrantes indocumentados

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Defensores de los derechos de los inmigrantes advierten que esta decisión sin precedentes podría llevar a que algunas personas pierdan su cobertura médica simplemente por no haber entregado a tiempo la documentación.

Trump’s HHS Orders State Medicaid Programs To Help Find Undocumented Immigrants

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Federal health authorities have taken the “unprecedented” step of instructing states to investigate certain individuals on Medicaid to determine whether they are ineligible because of their immigration status, with five states reporting they’ve received more than 170,000 names collectively.

The Quiet Collapse of America’s Reproductive Health Safety Net

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

The HHS office that administers the Title X family planning program has been effectively shut down. And with cuts to federal funding for other family health programs, expected Medicaid cuts, and the potential lapse of ACA subsidies, health leaders fear they are seeing the biggest setback to U.S. reproductive care in half a century.

Reporters Cover the Shutdown and the Use of AI in Health Care

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

What the Health? From Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News: Nutrition Programs Face Their Own Shutdown

Podcast

Two major nutrition programs — SNAP and WIC — are likely to exhaust their funding in November, and the furloughs and firings at the CDC have left the agency unable to perform some of its major functions. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s new IVF policy is being met with dissatisfaction from both sides. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News’ Katheryn Houghton, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month†feature.

Officials Show Little Proof That New Tech Will Help Medicaid Enrollees Meet Work Rules

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

The Trump administration says it’s developing a digital tool to help people prove they’re meeting new Medicaid work requirements. Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News talked to officials from the two states running pilot programs and found little evidence of new — or effective — technology.

Private Medicare, Medicaid Plans Exaggerate In-Network Mental Health Options, Watchdogs Say

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

A federal probe of Medicare and Medicaid plans run by private insurance companies found that the plan operators often overstated how many mental health providers were available in their networks. In some cases, investigators found providers had never had contracts with plans they were listed on.

States Jostle Over $50B Rural Health Fund as Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Trigger Scramble

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

States are battling for their piece of $50 billion in federal rural health funding, but it’s not just hospitals vying for the money. Tech startups and policy demands are raising the stakes as Medicaid cuts loom.

Journalists Dig Into Government Shutdown and Rural Doctor Drought

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News journalists made the rounds on national media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Senators Press Deloitte, Other Contractors on Errors in Medicaid Eligibility Systems

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

As contractors position themselves to cash in on a gush of new business managing Medicaid work requirements, a cadre of senators has launched an inquiry into the companies paid billions to build eligibility systems.

What the Health? From Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News: Starting To Feel the Shutdown’s Bite

Podcast

The government shutdown continues with no end in sight, and while it theoretically should not affect entitlement programs, the lapse of some related authorizations — like for Medicare telehealth programs — is leaving some doctors and patients high and dry. Meanwhile, the FDA quietly approved a new generic abortion pill. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sarah Grusin of the National Health Law Program.

A pesar de las protecciones al consumidor, embargan parte del sueldo a trabajadores para saldar deudas médicas

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Detrás del cobro de esas deudas hay todo tipo de proveedores médicos: grandes cadenas de salud, hospitales rurales pequeños, grupos de médicos, servicios públicos de ambulancia, entre otros.

Health Centers Face Risks as Government Funding Lapses

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Community health centers are key to delivering care in underserved communities around the country, but their services could be disrupted or scaled back after governments did not renew their funding.