Washington Insurance News

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Medi-Cal Under Threat: Who’s Covered and What Could Be Cut?

Medi-Cal Under Threat: Who’s Covered and What Could Be Cut?

By Reading Time: 6 minutes

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Medi-Cal, California’s complex, $174.6 billion Medicaid program, provides health insurance for nearly 15 million residents with low incomes and disabilities. The state enrolls twice as many people as New York and more than three times as many as Texas — the two states with the largest number of Medicaid participants after California.

‘I Am Going Through Hell’: Job Loss, Mental Health, and the Fate of Federal Workers

‘I Am Going Through Hell’: Job Loss, Mental Health, and the Fate of Federal Workers

By Reading Time: 8 minutes

The National Institutes of Health employee said she knew things would be difficult for federal workers after Donald Trump was elected. But she never imagined it would be like this. Focused on Alzheimer’s and other dementia research, the worker is among thousands who abruptly lost their jobs in the Trump administration’s federal workforce purge. The

To Patients, Parents, and Caregivers, Proposed Medicaid Cuts Are a Personal Affront

To Patients, Parents, and Caregivers, Proposed Medicaid Cuts Are a Personal Affront

By Reading Time: 6 minutes

TUSTIN, Calif. — Cynthia Williams is furious with U.S. House Republicans willing to slash Medicaid, the government-run insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The 61-year-old Anaheim resident cares for her adult daughter, who is blind, and for her sister, a military veteran with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions.

Who does Medicaid cover? How Congress’ proposed budget cuts could be felt

Who does Medicaid cover? How Congress’ proposed budget cuts could be felt

By Reading Time: 5 minutes

A budget resolution adopted Tuesday by House Republicans could jeopardize the health insurance coverage of millions of low-income and disabled people who rely on Medicaid if lawmakers follow through with their proposed spending cuts, experts warn. The budget plan instructs the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, to identify at least $880 billion in

Can Medicaid’s Popularity Shield It From the Budget Ax? 

Can Medicaid’s Popularity Shield It From the Budget Ax? 

By Reading Time: 3 minutes

Congressional lawmakers are facing tricky arithmetic as they hammer out a budget plan to finance President Donald Trump’s agenda.  Republicans need to free up roughly $4 trillion to pay for renewing Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which expire at the end of the year. Trump has vowed not to touch the costliest government programs, including Medicare

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Medicaid in the Crosshairs, Maybe

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Medicaid in the Crosshairs, Maybe

By Reading Time: 3 minutes

Can’t see the audio player? Listen on: The Host The future of the Medicaid health insurance program for those with low incomes is in doubt, as Congress works on a budget plan calling for major cuts while President Donald Trump both promises to support that plan as well as to protect the program.  Meanwhile, thousands

Republicans Are Eyeing Cuts to Medicaid. What’s Medicaid, Again?

Republicans Are Eyeing Cuts to Medicaid. What’s Medicaid, Again?

By Reading Time: 6 minutes

In January, during a congressional hearing on his way to becoming secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got basic details wrong about Medicaid — a program he now oversees. He said that Medicaid is fully funded by the federal government (it’s not) and that many enrollees are unsatisfied

Across the South, Rural Health Care Has Become ‘Trendy.’ Medicaid Expansion Has Not.

Across the South, Rural Health Care Has Become ‘Trendy.’ Medicaid Expansion Has Not.

By Reading Time: 6 minutes

WALHALLA, S.C. — Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a small primary care clinic run by Clemson University draws patients from across the region. Many are Hispanic and uninsured, and some are willing to travel from other counties, bypassing closer health care providers, just to be seen by Michelle Deem, the clinic’s

“Blatant attempt to rip away health insurance”: Medicaid system suspended nationwide, senator says

“Blatant attempt to rip away health insurance”: Medicaid system suspended nationwide, senator says

By Reading Time: 2 minutes

The shutdown comes as Trump’s budget office ordered a suspension of most federal spending Published January 28, 2025 4:17PM (EST) Senator Ron Wyden, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, speaks during a Senate Finance hearing to examine lowering health care costs for Americans, focusing on the Inflation Reduction Act, on Capitol Hill on September

Competition Remains Elusive in Private Insurance Market

Competition Remains Elusive in Private Insurance Market

By Reading Time: 5 minutes

Competition among US private insurance companies has generally declined since 2011 in large-group, small-group, and individual markets, a government report found. However, the trend has slowed or even reversed in some states over the past few years. Meanwhile, an American Medical Association (AMA) analysis warns that “the vast majority of health insurance markets remain stubbornly