AP: Measles Spreads in US — 1,001 Cases and 11 Ongoing State Outbreaks
New Mexico announced two new measles cases Thursday and North Dakota added one. The U.S. surpassed 1,000 measles cases Friday. Texas still accounts for the vast majority of cases in an outbreak that also spread measles to New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness. (Shastri, 5/15)
The Hill: Republican Leaders Seek to Expedite Medicaid Work Mandates
Republican leaders intend to accelerate new work requirements under Medicaid as they scramble to secure the support of GOP holdouts for President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Thursday that GOP leaders “absolutely” intend to speed up the implementation to ease the concerns of the Republicans threatening to sink the package if changes aren’t made. (Lillis, 5/15)
Politico: States Expected to Shoulder Majority of House GOP's Medicaid Overhaul
The House Energy and Commerce Committee proposal released Sunday night does not include the most controversial ideas, including per-capita caps on federal Medicaid payments to states, but it incorporates new mandates that will likely force states to revamp how they finance their programs or cut benefits. The health provisions also include new work requirements that are expected to lead many people to lose coverage, as well as a new cost-sharing requirement for some beneficiaries in the program, not to exceed five percent of a patient’s income. The plan also hits on hot-button social issues — proposing, for instance, to cut federal funding for groups like Planned Parenthood and ban the use of Medicaid dollars for gender-affirming care for youth. It also scales back funding from states that use their own funds to offer coverage for undocumented people. (Leonard and King, 5/11)
KFF Health News: Medicaid Funding Barely Sustains Hospital Mental Health Units; Federal Cuts Threaten Their Survival This town’s hospital is a holdout on behalf of people going through mental health crises. The facility’s leaders have pledged not to shutter their inpatient psychiatric unit, as dozens of other U.S. hospitals have Keeping that promise could soon get tougher if Congress slashes Medicaid funding. The joint federal-state health program covers an unusually large share of mental health patients, and hospital industry leaders say spending cuts could accelerate a decades-long wave of psychiatric unit closures. (Leys, 5/12)
The 19th: Proposed Medicaid Work Rules May Lead to Significant Coverage Losses for Women Congressional Republicans are poised to make massive spending cuts to the Medicaid program that provides health insurance to millions of Americans — in part by enacting federal work requirements that they claim won’t affect the most vulnerable recipients. But data analysis shows that poor middle-aged and older women would be among the most impacted. (Rodriguez, 5/15)
Californians Relying on In-Home Care Fear Medicaid Cuts Could End Independent Living
Bay Area senior Carol Crooks doesn’t know where congressional Republicans will land on Medicaid cuts as they look to fund a tax bill, but her health has already deteriorated as she worries about losing the help she needs to remain in her Oakland apartment — and out of a nursing home. (Ronnie Cohen, 5/15)
House Committee Endorses $715 Billion Medicaid Cut Following Marathon Session House Energy & Commerce Committee members finished a marathon markup session late Wednesday afternoon for their reconciliation bill, which among other provisions included an estimated $715 billion in cuts to Medicaid and other health programs over a 10-year period. Committee Chair Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) opened the hearing at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, arguing that the Biden administration was largely responsible for Americans' current healthcare difficulties. (Frieden, 5/14)
CBO Projects 7.6 Million to Lose Coverage Under Republican Medicaid Plan
The Medicaid portion of the House GOP’s massive domestic policy bill would result in 10.3 million people losing Medicaid coverage by 2034 and 7.6 million people going uninsured, according to a partial (CBO) Congressional Budget Office estimate. Republicans released the estimates just ahead of the start of Tuesday’s markup of the Energy and Commerce portion of the party-line legislation, which is key to enacting President Trump’s agenda. The uninsured numbers include 1.4 million people without verified citizenship who would be removed from the program and 4.8 million people who would lose coverage because of work requirements, the committee said. (Weixel, 5/13)
Becker's Hospital Review: Healthcare Leaders Decry Republicans' Proposed Medicaid Reductions
House Republicans on May 11 floated a bill that would impose up to $715 billion in Medicaid and ACA cuts over the next decade — reductions that hospital leaders warn would leave millions without coverage and put essential hospitals at risk of closure. The 160-page bill outlines several Medicaid provisions aimed at curbing federal spending, including: Implementing stricter eligibility requirements. (Condon, 5/12)
WSJ: Under RFK Jr., HHS Plans to Halt Routine COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance for Kids and Expectant Mothers
The Trump administration is planning to drop recommendations that pregnant women, teenagers and children get Covid-19 vaccines as a matter of routine, according to people familiar with the matter. The Department of Health and Human Services, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to remove the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for those groups around the same time it launches a new framework for approving vaccines, the people said. (Essley Whyte, 5/15)
AP: Military Commanders Directed to Initiate Medical Evaluations to Discharge Transgender Service Members
Military commanders will be told to identify troops in their units who are transgender or have gender dysphoria, then send them to get medical checks in order to force them out of the service, officials said Thursday. A senior defense official laid out what could be a complicated and lengthy new process aimed at fulfilling President Donald Trump’s directive to remove transgender service members from the U.S. military. The new order to commanders relies on routine annual health checks that service members are required to undergo. (Baldor, 5/16)
Bay Area Reporter: Lawmakers Urge RFK Jr. to Maintain LGBTQ+ Youth Support on 988 Hotline
Over one hundred members of Congress signed a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging the administration not to end specialized services for LGBTQ youth who call 988, the national suicide hotline. A similar separate May 7 letter to Kennedy from seven U.S. senators was led by lesbian U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), her office stated in a news release. The national 988 crisis line was designated by 2020 legislation passed by Congress and signed into law during President Donald Trump’s first term, as the Bay Area Reporter reported at the time. (Ferrannini, 5/15)
California Officials Caution That GOP Megabill Will Exacerbate State Budget Shortfall: Republicans are still negotiating how they plan to trim hundreds of billions from federal health care and environmental programs, but it appears that it will come at the cost of California’s budget. This legislation “rips massive holes in states’ budgets that are near impossible to fill,” said Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. Keep scrolling for more on the GOP’s “megabill” and the potential cuts to Medicaid.
Bay Area News Group: Newsom Attributes California's $12 Billion Budget Deficit to Tariffs and Medi-Cal Spending on Immigrants
When Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced his fiscal year 2025-2026 budget in January, he said California’s finances were improving. Now, the state is staring down a nearly $12 billion budget shortfall, largely because of market volatility driven by President Donald Trump’s oft-changing tariffs, Newsom said during a news conference Wednesday outlining the annual May revision of the budget proposal. Plus, the cost of Medi-Cal, the state’s health program for low-income and disabled residents, has ballooned. (Stringer, Varian, Rogers, and Gibbs, 5/15)
Newsom's Justification for Scaling Back Immigrant Health Care: 'We Must Adapt'
Gov. Gavin Newsom said that he’s proud his state expanded health care to all low-income residents regardless of immigration status but that tough budget times call for some adjustments. The Democrat’s new budget proposes scaling back benefits to adults living in the country illegally, as well as charging them a $100 monthly premium. (Christine Mai-Duc and Vanessa G. Sánchez, 5/15)
House Agriculture Committee Approves $300 Billion in SNAP Cuts
The House Agriculture Committee voted 29-25 along party lines to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 billion in food aid spending to pay for Republicans’ domestic policy megabill and some farm bill programs. The Wednesday vote sends the measure to the House Budget Committee for consideration before a full floor vote in the chamber on the bill. (Yarrow, 5/14)
NYT: Republicans Target SNAP in Trump's Tax Overhaul
House Republicans on Monday proposed a series of sharp restrictions on the federal anti-hunger program known as food stamps, seeking to limit its funding and benefits as part of a sprawling package to advance President Trump’s tax cuts. The proposal, included in a draft measure to be considered by the House Agriculture Committee this week, would require states to supply some of the funding for food stamps while forcing more of its beneficiaries to obtain employment in exchange for federal aid. (Romm, 5/12)
AP: Kennedy Assures Congress That Head Start Funding Will Remain Intact
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday told Congress the Trump administration would not cut funding for Head Start, after layoffs at the agency and funding freezes raised fears the six-decade-old program would be radically downsized. In an appearance before a Senate subcommittee, Kennedy said the administration would “emphasize healthy eating in Head Start, and ensure the program continues to serve its 750,000 children and parents effectively.” (Balingit, 5/14)
Becker's Hospital Review: Lawmakers Push for National Mandate on Nurse Staffing Ratios in Hospitals
Two Democratic senators and a representative reintroduced a bill May 12 that would create minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios at hospitals across the country. ... The proposed legislation mirrors California's landmark staffing law enacted in 1999. California remains the only state with mandated nurse-to-patient ratios for acute care hospitals. (Carbajal, 5/13)
NPR: FDA Plans to Eliminate Children's Fluoride Supplements, Sparking Debate in Dental Community
Under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Food and Drug Administration is seeking to remove prescription fluoride supplements for kids from the market. These are fluoride tablets, drops or lozenges that are recommended for kids who don't get fluoridated water to help prevent cavities. (Huang, 5/13)