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What CT family caregivers should know about new Medicaid work rules
Michayla Savitt, Connecticut Public Radio, Nov. 2
Many caregivers in Connecticut who qualify for Medicaid will need to take additional steps to keep or renew their coverage when new rules go into effect in January. A federal law created new work rules for many Medicaid recipients, but there are some exemptions, including for certain people who care for children under 14 or people with disabilities. To meet that exemption, many caregivers will need to self attest in 2027 either by checking a box in the online portal or telling Access Health CT over the phone. The state is still awaiting guidance on what documentation caregivers will need to submit for 2028.
Map shows projected Medicaid coverage losses across CT
Sujata Srinivasan, Connecticut Public Radio, Nov. 10
An estimated 108,000 HUSKY D members in Connecticut are at risk of losing coverage when new work requirements go into effect Jan. 1. A new interactive map by DataHaven shows how every Connecticut town is expected to be affected by changes made by the federal law known as HR 1. The map shows that Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, and Bridgeport are among the towns with the highest number of HUSKY D members projected to lose coverage. Smaller towns in western Connecticut have the highest shares of Access Health CT enrollees facing premium increases.
Nebraska rushed Medicaid work rules. Then a cancer patient was told he’d lost coverage.
Rachana Pradhan, KFF Health News, Nov. 10
Eli McCreary of Omaha, Nebraska, had recently been diagnosed with kidney cancer when he was informed that he was no longer insured by Medicaid — and that the hospital where he was receiving treatment would cancel his appointments unless he paid out of pocket. Nebraska launched new Medicaid work rules months before the federal government required them. About 70,000 Medicaid recipients in Nebraska are subject to the work requirements. McCreary is among them, despite battling substance use disorder, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer. “This cancer ain’t going to stop just because I ain’t got insurance,” he said. “It’s going to keep working on me.”
Hospitals brace for Medicaid work rules and deep funding cuts
Christopher Rowland, The New York Times, Nov. 11
Hospitals across the country are mobilizing an expansive outreach effort in an attempt to ensure millions of patients do not lose their insurance coverage under new Medicaid work rules. Hospitals rely heavily on Medicaid funding and, without a stable patient population, risk losing government reimbursements. Safety-net hospitals with large numbers of Medicaid patients warn that the financial losses will result in increases in charitable care and uncollected bills, shifting higher costs to employers and patients with commercial insurance. Emergency rooms could become busier and see more uninsured patients. Small rural hospitals could be forced to cut jobs and shut down services like maternity wards.
How one US city cut its infant mortality rate by half
Ananya Rupanagunta, Vox, Nov. 4
Flint, Michigan made national headlines a decade ago for its water crisis. But for years, the city has also quietly carried the weight of a tragically high newborn mortality rate. In 2024, its infant mortality rate was nearly twice the national rate. But a new study shows there may be a way to reverse that trend, and it has already made a difference in Flint. Over the last two years, Flint has been testing a no-strings-attached cash transfer program, Rx Kids. Pregnant women in the city were given $1,500 at enrollment, followed by $500 every month until one year after childbirth. The study found that neonatal mortality, which refers to deaths within the first month after birth, dropped by nearly half in Flint.