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Trump demands Medicaid data for deportation. Some states go a step further.
Andrew Jones, KFF Health News, May 14
Several states are using public health agencies to aid immigration enforcement, by flagging Medicaid recipients to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security if their legal status is in question. Health policy experts expect the trend to spread among GOP-controlled states. Immigrants without legal status are ineligible for Medicaid benefits, but some noncitizens do qualify, such as green-card holders, asylees, and refugees. A quarter of children in the U.S., most of them citizens, live with an immigrant. “When you do policies that target an immigrant, you may think that you are just targeting this one person in the family, but it’s a really imprecise bomb that takes out the whole household,” said Leonardo Cuello, a researcher at Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families.
Delays in visa program threaten placement of hundreds of doctors in underserved areas
Arielle Zionts, KFF Health News, May 1
Hundreds of foreign doctors about to complete training in the U.S. will have to leave the country if the federal government doesn’t rapidly process their visa waiver applications. Immigration attorneys say those applications have been stalled since the fall and winter. The waiver program allows physicians who aren’t U.S. citizens to stay in the country, in exchange for agreeing to work in underserved areas for at least three years. “It will be the patients that suffer the most because in about three months, there’s going to be hundreds of places that are not going to have a physician that should have,” said a psychiatrist caught in the delay.
Health program cuts hit home, fueling blame game
Peter Sullivan, Axios, May 12
Sweeping changes made to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid are starting to take effect, prompting widespread coverage losses. About 1.2 million fewer people signed up for ACA coverage compared to a year ago, after congress did not extend enhanced subsidies. Nebraska also became the first state to impose new work requirements on some Medicaid recipients under HR 1. Advocates worry that many people who are working may not know about the new rules or how to verify their employment, leading to unnecessary coverage losses. Experts say a rise in the uninsured rate will put more stress on the health system.
Connecticut hospitals get funding boost as federal Medicaid cuts loom
Liese Klein, CT Insider, May 9
Connecticut’s hospitals will face looming federal cuts with more state money thanks to tax changes in the revised state budget. Due to a change in how the provider tax is calculated, hospitals will pay $154 million more to the state in the 2027 fiscal year, but will get $240 million back in return to reimburse for government-funded care. Hospitals will also get $210 million more in Medicaid supplemental payments as part of the new budget to offset the low reimbursement rates for government-funded care. Hospital officials say they could face millions in losses in coming years due to an expected surge in uninsured patients because of federal Medicaid cuts.
License to deliver: Some midwives break the law to assist with home births
Lisa Rab, KFF Health News, May 14
Seven states in the U.S. have some sort of law that prevents non-nurse midwives from delivering babies. In North Carolina, it’s a misdemeanor, while in New York, it’s a felony. Meanwhile, demand for midwives’ services is increasing, as intended home births rose 42% from 2020 to 2024. Midwifery advocates say regulating the practice with licenses would allow home births to be safer, and could help address a shortage of maternity care providers. Midwifery is also seen by some advocates as a way to address Black maternal health disparities.