Medicaid

Thousands of Midwesterners obtained health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. A federal work requirement would force states to enforce a policy that could cause a loss of benefits caused by administrative errors and red tape.

The federal spending cuts proposed by the Republican-controlled Congress could lead to tens of thousands of jobs lost across Missouri and Kansas health care systems and food suppliers, a new study found.

A new study about potential cuts to Medicaid and SNAP found that Texas could see its gross domestic product shrink by $7 billion.

The Joint Economic Committee - Minority report released Thursday by Congressional Democrats projects Republican tax cut proposals could mean a one-third cut to Medicaid nationwide. Children, the elderly and rural residents stand to lose the most.

Texas state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, revived his proposal for a Medicaid expansion program in case state or federal Republican leaders change their minds.

More than five dozen groups — including United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the Tarrant Area Food Bank — wrote in support of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission's request for $300 million to improve processing times for Medicaid and SNAP applications.

The request, which includes hiring more staff and updating the online application system, comes as applicants must wait for months to receive approval for benefits.

Texas officials acknowledged some errors after they stripped Medicaid coverage from more than 2 million people, most of them children. A ProPublica and Texas Tribune review of records shows that these mistakes and others were preventable.

After pandemic-era federal protections for Medicaid ended, Kansas started reviewing who was eligible for state health coverage. About 47% of the residents who lost insurance during that time were ages 18 or younger.

A new Medicaid extension goes into effect today that gives pregnant Texans twelve months of postpartum coverage.