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She owed her insurer a nickel, so it canceled her coverage
Elisabeth Rosenthal, KFF Health News, March 30
When Lorena Alvarado Hill started receiving unexpected medical bills, she found her insurance had been canceled for “non-payment of premiums.” It was a surprise because she typically paid nothing toward her premiums for Florida’s government-subsidized HealthFirst plan. After a recent life event triggered a recalculation of her monthly premium contribution, she learned that she owed 5 cents. The current administration recently removed a rule that gave insurers the flexibility to allow ACA enrollees to retain coverage if they owed less than $10, or less than 95% of premium costs.
Why millions of seniors have suddenly lost health care coverage
Christopher Rowland, The Washington Post, March 28
Millions of elderly people across the country lost their health insurance this year and have been forced to scramble to find alternatives after Medicare Advantage companies left communities where their plans threatened profits or lost money. Medicare Advantage is the privatized version of Medicare. One of the risks beneficiaries face– especially in rural areas where options are limited– is that plans are under no obligation to offer coverage year-to-year. When profit margins are threatened, insurance companies can suddenly withdraw coverage. Most affected seniors nationally had other Medicare Advantage options to choose from, but around 30,000 did not, according to a new analysis.
A $50 billion fund to help rural hospitals could actually lead to service cuts
Aaron Bolton and Arielle Zionts, NPR, March 26
Big Sandy Medical Center in Montana needs at least $1 million for deferred maintenance, including a failing HVAC system, as it struggles to make payroll each month. The hospital likely won’t receive funding from Montana’s share of the $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program for renovations though. That’s because the five-year federal program focuses on new, creative ways to improve access to rural health care, not on directly funding services and renovations. Leaders in Montana and other states say projects launched under the program could lead rural hospitals to cut services so they can continue to offer essential services.
Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act darkens outlook for government-backed clinics
Phil Galewitz, KFF Health News, April 1
Nebraska is set to become the first state to require certain Medicaid enrollees to work or lose their coverage under new rules in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. For clinics that serve low-income and uninsured patients, the new rules will have a significant financial impact. Brad Meyer, CEO of one of those clinics, says most of their patients are covered by Medicaid. He estimates up to 15% of them may lose their coverage, which would cost his center about $600,000 a year. Nationwide, clinics are bracing for similar impacts. Nonprofit health centers could lose $32 billion collectively over five years, as a result of the new law.
Babies are an afterthought in the birthright citizenship case, advocates say
Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR, March 31
Advocates worry that all newborns, regardless of their parents’ immigration status, would be affected if the Supreme Court were to end birthright citizenship. Right now, babies born in the United States are automatically citizens, with access to a range of services. If the law were to change, all parents would have to prove their own citizenship status. “If you say, ‘Well, we don’t know if the baby is a citizen,’ it is highly questionable whether babies will then have Medicaid, SNAP, WIC [food benefits], any access to these critical programs at the most vulnerable time in any of our lives,” said Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus on Children, a bipartisan advocacy group.