Medicaid
‘Worse than people can imagine’: Medicaid ‘unwinding’ breeds chaos in states
This story was produced by KFF Health News. More than two dozen people lined up outside a state public assistance office in Montana before it opened to ensure they didn’t get cut off from Medicaid. Callers in Missouri and Florida reported waiting on hold for more than two hours on hotlines to renew their Medicaid […]
Alabama Medicaid unwinding: Children big part of losses, but may have gotten coverage elsewhere
Children ranging from one to 12 made up over 31% of Alabamians who lost Medicaid coverage after federal restrictions on disenrollment expired earlier this year, according to data released Tuesday by the Alabama Medicaid Agency. When children 18 years old or younger are included, that figure rises to over 43%. But both Alabama Medicaid officials […]
Alabama Medicaid Agency: Up to 100,000 Alabamians may have lost coverage
Up to 100,000 Alabamians may have lost Medicaid coverage since restrictions on federal bans on disenrollment expired earlier this year, according to preliminary numbers assembled by the Alabama Medicaid Agency. But Melanie Cleveland, a spokeswoman for the Medicaid Agency, said some of those removed could return within a 90-day window to restore coverage. “It is […]
A new COVID booster is here. Will those at greatest risk get it?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends new COVID-19 booster vaccines for all — but many who need them most won’t get them. About 75% of people in the United States appear to have skipped last year’s bivalent booster, and nothing suggests uptake will be better this time around. “Urging people to get boosters […]
Hospitals plead with Congress to avert $8 billion in cuts in Medicaid funding
WASHINGTON — Health care representatives from across the United States are urging Congress to halt cuts to funding that helps hospitals care for uninsured or low-income patients who rely on Medicaid. More than 250 hospitals and health systems appealed to House and Senate leadership in a letter Thursday asking the lawmakers to avert or delay […]
You might need an ambulance, but your state might not see it as ‘essential’
When someone with a medical emergency calls 911, they expect an ambulance to show up. But sometimes, there simply isn’t one available. Most states don’t declare emergency medical services (EMS) to be an “essential service,” meaning the state government isn’t required to provide or fund them. Now, though, a growing number of states are taking […]
Despite federal warnings, red and blue states aggressively cull Medicaid rolls
Despite federal warnings to slow down, both red and blue states have cut off Medicaid coverage for nearly 4 million people because they lack the proper paperwork. In at least four states, half of all the people who have lost coverage for any reason are children. During the pandemic, the federal government directed states not […]
Sluggish start to Georgia’s modest expansion of Medicaid reignites debate over health policies
Fewer than 300 people have been approved for Georgia’s new Medicaid program for some low-income adults who rack up enough hours of work, or other qualifying activity, each month. The program, which launched July 1, is being closely watched nationally as Georgia becomes the only state to require work or the equivalent for low-income adults […]
DACA recipients’ Medicaid eligibility slammed by U.S. House Republicans
WASHINGTON — A panel on the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Tuesday grilled a Biden administration official about the White House’s decision to allow undocumented people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to enroll in Medicaid or private insurance provided under the Affordable Care Act. The chair of the subcommittee, Republican […]
Mental health respite facilities are filling care gaps in over a dozen states
Aimee Quicke has made repeated trips to emergency rooms, hospitals, behavioral health facilities, and psychiatric lockdowns for mental health crises — including suicidal thoughts — since she was 11. The 40-year-old resident of Le Mars, Iowa, has bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders. “Some of the visits were helpful and some were not,” she said. “It was […]
Federal health insurance website lags in voter registration assistance, Democrats charge
A group of U.S. Senate Democrats is pressing the Biden administration to make it easier for the millions of Americans who sign up each year for health insurance through a federal website to register to vote. The lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote in a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary […]
Half a million people in less than a dozen states have lost Medicaid coverage since April
More than 500,000 people across 11 states have lost their Medicaid coverage since the unwinding of a policy that allowed people to stay in the program throughout the pandemic. The data, reported by the states and tracked by health policy researcher KFF, shows that of the five states providing data on people who lost Medicaid […]