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Republicansā moves to scale back Medicaid are leading to more misinformation about immigrants, especially Latinos, circulating on social media platforms. The misconceptions include the myths that Latinos covered by Medicaid donāt work and that they use Medicaid significantly more than others.
The Senate Finance Committee questioned Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trumpās nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News reporters discussed the biggest takeaways from the hearing.
Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Hereās a collection of their appearances.
The Trump administrationās efforts to downsize the federal government continue, with both personnel and programs being cut at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration. Meanwhile, the fight over cuts to the Medicaid program for those with low incomes heats up, as Republicans worry that more of their voters than ever before are Medicaid beneficiaries. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Jeff Grant, who recently retired from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after 41 years in government service.
Medi-Cal, Californiaās Medicaid program, borrowed $3.4 billion from the state ā and will likely need even more ā due to higher prescription costs and increased eligibility for seniors and immigrants. The top Republican in the state Senate is demanding a hearing āso the public knows exactly where their tax dollars are going.ā
A Republican House resolution, which needs the Senateās buy-in, directed a committee to propose ways to reduce the deficit by at least $880 billion over a decade. Lawmakers have taken Medicare off the table for cuts, which makes it impossible to reach $880 billion without cutting Medicaid.
President Donald Trumpās health team has deep financial ties to the supplements industry. Now theyāre poised to boost its growth and remake the governmentās approach to health.
Many patients ready to leave the hospital end up lingering for days or weeks ā occupying beds that others need and driving up costs ā because of a lack of open spots at nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. A few health systems are addressing this problem by moving post-acute rehab into the home.
The American Medical Association and the leading nursing home trade group both are lobbying Republicans in Congress on other priorities.
As a deputy chief technology officer in the Obama administration, Jennifer Pahlka brought Silicon Valley talent to Washington to streamline public access to government services. She believes better government technology could both ensure taxpayer dollars arenāt wasted and that people who need health care and food assistance receive it.
As policymakers in Washington debate potentially steep funding cuts to Medicaid, Republicans are using terms such as āmoney launderingā and ādiscriminationā to make their case. Language experts and Medicaid advocates say their word choice is misleading and designed to sway the public against the popular program.
The Supreme Court opined for the first time that Trump administration officials may be exceeding their authority to reshape the federal government by refusing to honor completed contracts, even as lower-court judges started blocking efforts to fire workers, freeze funding, and cancel ongoing contracts. Meanwhile, public health officials are alarmed at the Department of Health and Human Servicesā public handling of Texasā widening measles outbreak, particularly the secretaryās less-than-full endorsement of vaccines. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Stephanie Armour of Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
At a town hall in Orange County, California, angry residents said Congress should keep its hands off Medicaid. The cuts contemplated in a House budget blueprint would bore a giant hole in Californiaās version of the safety net health insurance program, Medi-Cal, which covers nearly 15 million residents.
At least 20 states have settled disputes with health insurance giant Centene since 2021 over allegations that its pharmacy benefit manager operation overcharged their Medicaid programs. Two holdouts appear to remain: Georgia has not yet settled, and Florida officials wonāt answer questions about its Centene situation.
A small program celebrated by its proponents helps people modify their homes and safely live independently as they age. But most insurers wonāt pay for it, including Medicare.
The House passed a budget plan that likely would result in major cuts to the Medicaid program. But the plan now faces a battle in the Senate, where even Republicans seem reluctant to dramatically reduce a health program that covers roughly 1 in 5 Americans. Meanwhile, federal judges and the Trump administration continue to differ over whether the administration has the authority to unilaterally cancel programs approved and funded by Congress and to fire federal workers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Victoria Knight of Axios join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Frustrated by high health care prices, many who backed President Donald Trump support strong government actions to protect patients. Itās unclear whether GOP leaders will listen.
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump distanced himself from the conservative governing plan after Democratic attacks. But now itās increasingly viewed as a blueprint for his administrationās plans for federal health programs.
Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News correspondent Sam Whitehead discusses Medicaid's history and role in the U.S. health system.
State lawmakers appear ready to preserve the stateās Medicaid expansion program without knowing what federal changes might be in store.
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