work requirements

“When President Donald Trump signed a law adding work requirements for some Medicaid recipients, he may have undercut lawmakers in at least 14 states who were designing their own plans, according to health industry observers.

"States must begin verifying millions of Medicaid enrollees’ monthly work status by the end of next year — a task some critics say states will have a hard time carrying out. A provision in the tax and spending bill President Donald Trump signed into law July 4 will require the 40 states plus Washington, D.C., that have expanded Medicaid to check paperwork at least twice a year to ensure those enrollees are volunteering or working at least 80 hours a month or attending school at least half time. The new law provides states $200 million for fiscal year 2026 to get their systems up and running. But some experts say states will have difficulty meeting the deadline with that funding and worry enrollees might lose their health benefits as a result. A year and a half to comply is likely not going to be enough time for most states, especially since the federal government must craft guidance on how they should implement their programs, said Dr. Benjamin Sommers, a health economist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He predicted it will be difficult to create technology simple enough — such as a phone app — to streamline the process for all enrollees. “Two hundred million [dollars] is not going to cover the 40 expansion states that we have,” he told Stateline. “There is not a silver bullet here, and there isn’t a single app out there that’s going to keep people who should be in Medicaid from losing coverage. That’s just not realistic.”

"A growing number of Americans find themselves living in "health care deserts," areas lacking in the specific infrastructure and services needed to ensure timely access to medicine and care, new data suggests. According to new research from health care and prescription price-comparison website GoodRx, 81 percent of U.S. counties—home to more than 120 million Americans—fall under this definition in some way. This includes those which lack proper access to either pharmacies, primary care, hospital beds, trauma centers or community health centers." Read more at Newsweek.

"Vice President JD Vance traveled to a crucial swing state on Wednesday to sell the Trump administration’s signature domestic policy legislation as a victory for working American families, despite concerns even among some Republicans over its cuts to the safety net in service of benefiting the rich. In what amounted to an attempted brand relaunch of legislation that Democrats have framed as an attack on the middle class, Mr. Vance traveled to a machine shop in eastern Pennsylvania to spotlight provisions in the package that would cut taxes, preserve overtime pay and create $1,000 savings accounts for newborns. Left unmentioned by Mr. Vance were the cuts to Medicaid and the nutritional assistance programs that many of Mr. Trump’s own supporters rely on. “I think this will be transformational for the American people,” Mr. Vance said in front of signs that read “No tax on tips” and “America is back.” The vice president appealed to those in attendance to help the administration sell the package ahead of next year’s midterm elections, arguing that it would benefit Americans like those working in the manufacturing facility serving as his backdrop."

“Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) and several Republican allies have unveiled an amendment to President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that would reduce Medicaid spending by another $313 billion by limiting the expansion of Medicaid under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare.

“Senate Republicans on Monday released legislation that would cut Medicaid far more aggressively than would the House-passed bill to deliver President Trump’s domestic agenda, while also salvaging or slowing the elimination of some clean-energy tax credits, setting up a fight over their party’s marquee policy package.

“The Senate Agriculture Committee is proposing some notable changes to the controversial food stamp provisions in the House-approved version of Republicans’ megabill.

"Proposed federal budget cuts to health and social programs would affect about 8 million seniors living in poverty. Many rely on state and federal support that the Trump Administration wants to cut."