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New issue brief documents what’s at stake if Medicaid HCBS is cut
A new KFF issue brief lays out how extensively states now rely on Medicaid to pay and assist family members who provide care, and how vulnerable those services may be in the decade ahead. Medicaid HCBS, or home and community based services, are a critical support for millions of older adults who want to age…
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Deep federal cuts will make health care financially toxic, driving up medical debt
Early in 2020, Ella Nelson was 2 years old when her grandmother noticed a small lump on the right side of her abdomen. Finding that lump was the start of a difficult years-long odyssey for Ella, her mother, Megan, and her father, Marcus. Three weeks earlier, Megan Nelson had just given birth to Ella’s brother,…
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New Medicaid work rules will challenge enrollees and states
Medicaid officials in 42 states have until Jan. 1, 2027, to put new work rules in place so that millions of Americans can enroll or remain enrolled in Medicaid, as KFF reported in August. Many, if not all, of those states, including the District of Columbia, Georgia and Wisconsin, will struggle to meet that deadline…
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How to find stories in states’ plans for the Rural Health Transformation Program
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in early November that all 50 states had submitted applications for grants from its $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, an initiative aimed at strengthening health care across rural America. States had been invited to design and submit plans to transform rural health care in their locales…
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Webinar recap: Understanding the budget bill’s toll on older adults, and how to tell the story
The Budget Reconciliation Act of 2025 (H.R. 1) enacts sweeping reductions to Medicaid, Medicare and nutrition programs. Advocates say these changes will profoundly affect older adults’ ability to access health care, food and basic support — despite administration claims that seniors won’t lose benefits. Rachel Werner, M.D., Ph.D., executive director of the Leonard Davis Institute…
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How the budget bill will impact older adults: What journalists should know
H.R. 1, or the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” imposes $1 trillion in funding cuts, along with sweeping reforms to Medicaid, Medicare and safety net programs like food assistance. The law adds new work requirements for Medicaid recipients under the age of 65; puts home and community-based services at risk; pauses minimum staffing requirements for nursing…
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Medicaid cuts will cost hospitals billions in lost revenue annually, reports show
The budget reconciliation bill President Trump signed into law on July 4 will devastate the finances of hospitals nationwide, particularly those in rural areas, according to a July 8 Third Way report. Over 10 years, that law will eliminate more than $1 trillion from Medicaid, costing U.S. hospitals at least $24 billion in lost revenue…
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