To get these headlines delivered to your inbox every week, sign up for our weekly health news roundup.
Federal budget bill could threaten ‘HUSKY for immigrants’ in CT
Katy Golvala, The Connecticut Mirror, June 11
Despite federal threats against states that provide health coverage for undocumented immigrants, Connecticut officials say they remain committed to offering coverage for children 15 and under, and women who are up to a year postpartum. Connecticut’s Medicaid program, known as HUSKY, extends coverage to those groups regardless of immigration status. The federal budget, currently being negotiated by members of Congress, threatens to financially penalize states that offer health insurance coverage to undocumented residents. Officials have raised questions about the federal government’s ability to penalize states, since coverage to undocumented people is 100% covered by state funds.
Medicaid work rules’ bureaucratic nightmare
Victoria Knight, Axios, June 6
Health policy experts say that Medicaid work requirements will create red tape and bureaucratic hoops people will have to jump through in order to maintain coverage. A GOP budget bill passed by the House in May includes a new federal requirement for those ages 19 to 64 to work or participate in 80 hours of community engagement per month, claiming to help cut down on waste and fraud. “These are savings from kicking eligible people out of Medicaid who should have that coverage, who need it for their health care, because they can’t navigate this big bureaucratic mess that the bill creates,” said Ben Sommers, a health economist at Harvard University.
Planned Parenthood clinics provide basic health care. If they close, where will many women go?
Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, June 6
After federal funding to more than 100 Planned Parenthood clinics was suddenly frozen this spring, at least 20 have had to close or will close this year. Planned Parenthood serves more than two million patients nationwide every year, many of them uninsured, underinsured, or eligible for Medicaid. The majority of the services it provides involve basic health care for women, as well as cancer screenings, access to contraception, and more. Abortions, the main reason the current administration has ended support for the clinics, account for only 4% of the services Planned Parenthood provides.
‘Expensive and complicated’: Most rural hospitals no longer deliver babies
Anna Claire Vollers, Stateline, June 11
Nationwide, most rural hospitals no longer offer obstetric services. On average, two rural labor and delivery departments shut their doors every month. Staffing shortages, low Medicaid payments, and declining birth rates have contributed to the closures. The closures are associated with increases in births in hospital emergency rooms, as well as an increase in preterm births. The share of women without adequate prenatal care also increases in rural counties that lose hospital obstetric services. Experts worry that proposed cuts to Medicaid could lead to a ripple effect, forcing states and hospitals to offset funding losses by providing less money for rural hospitals overall.
Guns are the leading cause of death of kids and teens, and state laws matter
Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, June 11
A new study found that states with permissive gun laws experienced a rise in pediatric deaths from 2011 to 2023, while states with stricter laws did not. Researchers grouped states into three categories based on their gun laws: most permissive, permissive, and least permissive. They found that in both the most permissive and permissive states, pediatric deaths increased compared to the decade prior. The excess deaths included both homicides and suicides. Researchers said the next step is to take a closer look at which specific laws can truly help prevent gun deaths among kids and teens.