Medicaid Insurers’ Contracts on the Line in Tight Governor’s Race
The Democratic candidate for governor says he would make Iowa the second state to drop private Medicaid management companies, which he calls “a disaster.”
State Watch
A 51Ƶ Health News examination of how the Trump administration is reshaping health care in America.
1 - 20 of 76 Results
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Doctors ‘Cringe’ at Possibility of Documenting Which Medicaid Enrollees Too Sick To Work
Final regulations on Medicaid work requirements say enrollees must regularly obtain documentation — possibly from medical professionals — to prove that they’re too sick to work. Doctors say the rules put them in a tough spot.
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A Sales Tax on Doctor Visits and Medicine? In Missouri, Some Worry
A ballot measure to eliminate Missouri’s 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.
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Facing Funding Losses, States Call Out Big Businesses With Employees on Medicaid
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.
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Lawmakers Look To Make Abortion Shield Laws Less Dependent on Who’s Governor
California’s laws still leave extradition decisions related to reproductive rights and gender-affirming care to its governor. But as states with abortion bans target California physicians who prescribe abortion pills across state lines, Democrats want to lock in protections for doctors, no matter who the next governor is.
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Efforts To End School Vaccine Mandates Hit a Wall in Florida
The state’s campaign to end school vaccine requirements is dead for now. The reasons could offer insights into similar efforts’ chances in other states.
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Even in Blue States, Hospitals Have Continued To Drop Gender-Affirming Care for Youths
Massachusetts passed laws and joined lawsuits to protect access to gender-affirming care for minors. But faced with the Trump administration’s threats, some hospitals voluntarily stopped care. Families are outraged.
Medicaid Work Rules Surprise States
Episode 449Adult Medicaid enrollees with serious health conditions may not be automatically exempt from new work rules, according to a new regulation from the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the administration is also proposing to give political appointees even more power over who gets health and science grant funding. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Liz Essley Whyte of The Wall Street Journal join 51Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 51Ƶ Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month.”
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Louisiana’s Reporting Law Chills Immigrant Medicaid Applications
A year after the measure’s passage, a state law is keeping immigrants and their children from accessing Medicaid even when they qualify.
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Michigan Found a Way To Reduce School Vaccine Waivers. Until It Backfired.
The state had high rates of parents not vaccinating their children, so it started making them attend vaccine education sessions to opt out their kids. It seemed to work. Then things got ugly.
By Kate Wells -
A Trump Stronghold Grapples With Health Risks of ICE Detention Sites
Several rural communities were thrust into a charged national debate over the Trump administration’s mass deportation strategy when federal officials sought to place new detention centers in them. In Social Circle, Georgia, locals fear the effort will overburden its modest healthcare infrastructure.
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Montana Hurries To Adopt Trump’s Medicaid Work Rules Amid Budget Woes
The state is ramping up to implement the federal work requirements six months ahead of the deadline. But Montana is one of several states already struggling to pay for health services.
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Trump’s $50B Rural Health Bet Meets a Healthcare Desert in North Carolina
Republicans promise that $50 billion in new health funding will help rural America. But it’s not expected to aid the years-long effort in North Carolina’s Martin County to reopen its only hospital.
By Sarah Jane Tribble and Amanda Seitz -
Efforts To Understand the Nation’s Drugged Driving Problem Stall Under Trump
The data behind alcohol-related traffic deaths is well studied. Less understood is the toll of vehicle deaths involving drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol. Attempts to fix that have been stymied by federal budget and staffing cuts.
By Jace DiCola -
Trump Demands Medicaid Data for Deportation. Some States Go a Step Further.
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.
By Andrew Jones -
States Rush To Figure Out How To Enforce Trump’s Medicaid Work Requirements
A 51Ƶ survey of state Medicaid officials offers insight into lingering uncertainty and differing plans for work requirement implementation as the Jan. 1 deadline approaches.
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Trump’s Medicaid Work Mandate Debuting in Nebraska to Much Dismay
On May 1, the state will become the first to require people on the government health program to fulfill a work requirement or lose their coverage under a new rule that was a key part of congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
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California Lawmakers Seek Protections for Patients in ICE Custody
Moving through the California Senate are two bills, informed by 51Ƶ Health News reporting, that would strengthen protections for patients brought to health facilities by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Montana Moves Ahead With Doula Pay but Warns Medicaid Cuts Still May Come
Montana health officials say they’re seeking to add doula services to the state’s Medicaid program, reversing a previous statement that they would “not be moving forward” amid a budget shortfall.
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Real Estate Investors Profit From Long-Term Care While Residents Languish
Real estate investment trusts are landlords for thousands of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospitals. Some select the managers and keep close watch over their performance but deny responsibility for bad care.
By Jordan Rau