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Governors facing huge budget shortfalls are eyeing cuts to Medicaid, even as millions of unemployed Americans flock to the health insurance program after losing their employer-based coverage. States that are buckling under declining revenues and increased Medicaid enrollment due to COVID-19 say they may have no choice but to cut the program for the poor unless they get more financial support from the federal government. (Hellmann, 5/17)

Kaiser Health News: Medicaid Providers At The End Of The Line For Federal COVID Funding

Casa de Salud, a nonprofit clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, provides primary medical care, opioid addiction services and non-Western therapies, including acupuncture and reiki, to a largely low-income population. And, like so many other health care providers that serve as a safety net, its revenue — and its future — are threatened by the COVID-19 epidemic. (Rovner, 5/18)

Across the country, statehouses were in the middle of their legislative sessions and in some cases, debating bills, budgets and other legislative measures that would reshape parts of the country as lawmakers settled into 2020. Marijuana legalization, tougher gun control regulations, expanded voting rights and jail reform were all on the table in states such as California, Georgia, Kentucky and New York. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit -- putting a pause on all discussions not related to the pandemic. (Pereira, 5/17)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Sunday said approving coronavirus relief funding for state and local governments is “not charity” and that his state is facing budgetary concerns as a “direct result” of the crisis. “It’s a social responsibility at a time when states large and small [ are] facing unprecedented budgetary stress. It is incumbent upon the federal government to support the states through this difficult time,” he said on CNN's "State of the Union." Newsom said lawmakers have a “moral and ethical obligation” to help Americans across the country. (Klar, 5/17)

Doctors and women’s health advocates say they are “alarmed” and “disheartened” by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to rollback his promise of health coverage for low-income women who are diagnosed with postpartum depression or anxiety. It was one of many cuts to mental health funding the governor proposed in his revised budget to close the $54 billion shortfall created by the coronavirus pandemic, which psychologists now say will likely be followed by a mental health pandemic. (Dembosky, 5/15)