Akeiisa Coleman

Biting Into Medicaid: What Happens When States Cut and Expand Medicaid Dental Benefits? If policymakers want to protect access to dental care while managing Medicaid costs, adult dental benefits should not be treated as a go-to option for cuts.

When benefits are cut and patients don’t realize it, they risk unexpected out-of-pocket costs. In addition, when benefits expand and they again don’t realize it, the policy can’t deliver on its promise of enhanced access to services. #Medicaid #Dental www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2026/bi...

Florida Hasn’t Expanded Medicaid. Lawmakers Want To Add Work Requirements Anyway. - KFF Health News Florida is not mandated to add work requirements for Medicaid, because the state has not expanded eligibility to more low-income adults. But lawmakers have proposed requiring some adults in the state’...

Many states must adopt Medicaid work requirements by January under Trump's Big Beautiful Bill.

That's not required in Florida, but lawmakers there are proposing the work requirements anyway.

The move baffles health care advocates. Some doubt it’s even legal.

Despite Their Successes, Some Mobile Crisis Response Teams Are in Crisis - KFF Health News Mobile crisis units are trained to respond to emergency calls when people are experiencing delusions or hallucinations. But unlike police departments, which are generally funded by local taxpayers, mo...

Many cities send teams of mental health professionals to respond to calls for people experiencing delusions or hallucinations instead of police.

But without consistent sources of funding, some mobile crisis teams are shutting down despite their successes. Can states step in?

Idaho considers an 'apocalyptic' choice for disabled people and families Difficult budget decisions in a number of states are threatening vital programs for disabled people at home and caregivers in the workforce.

Stephanie Walters doesn’t know what she will do if Idaho stops funding home care for her daughter... But because of steep cuts to #Medicaid from Donald Trump’s signature policy measure, state officials are considering the unthinkable. 19thnews.org/2026/03/idah... #healthpolicy #OBBBA

What Newly Released Medicaid Data Do and Don’t Tell Us | KFF On February 14, 2026, CMS released a dataset with provider-level spending data that the agency suggests could be used to identify unusual billing patterns for specific services, states, or providers. ...

CMS recently released #Medicaid provider-level data suggesting that it could be used to identify fraud. Important read from @alicelburns.bsky.social & @robinr.bsky.social @kff.org about the limitations of the data and how it can be misused: www.kff.org/medicaid/wha...

New Medicaid Work Rules Likely To Hit Middle-Aged Adults Hard - KFF Health News Republicans have said new rules requiring many Medicaid participants to work 80 hours a month will pinpoint unemployed young people who should have jobs. Policy researchers say the rules are more like...

We heard a lot from GOP leaders last year that Medicaid work reporting requirements were designed to get 29 yr old men "off their couches."

The reality will be quite different with many older women age 50-64 at risk of losing their health insurance.

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

NC Medicaid leaders seek funding strategy as federal work requirements — and their costs — loom Officials present hospitals, more taxes on health insurers and state savings as options to cover rising administrative costs.

HR 1/OBBBA state impacts: The federal gov't has given NC $1.9M to implement the work requirement, but Bush said the state still needs $6.5M to cover “startup costs,” along with $3.3M per quarter for ongoing administrative costs www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2026/01/30/m... #Medicaid #NCleg

Kids Lose When Federal Vaccine Coverage Rules Are Unclear Rollbacks in federal vaccine recommendations create uncertainty for families and providers and can result in delayed or restricted access to lifesaving vaccines.

When national vaccine recommendations change, coverage can disappear—impacting nearly half of all U.S. children who rely on #Medicaid. See our new blog post to learn why vaccine guidelines matter for children’s health www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2026/ki...

Great opportunity for someone looking for a midlevel position.

State Health Care Cost Commissions: Their Priorities and How States’ Political Leanings, Commercial Hospital Prices, and Medicaid Spending Predict Their Establishment | Milbank Quarterly This study identifies states that have established health care cost commissions (HCCCs), examines state-level political and economic factors associated with their establishment, and reports which of t...

ICYMI, check out “State Health Care Cost Commissions: Their Priorities and How States’ Political Leanings, Commercial Hospital Prices, and Medicaid Spending Predict Their Establishment” by Brent Fulton, Dan Arnold, Jordan M. Wolf & Richard Scheffler in The Milbank Quarterly.

Great thread on recent materials published by @georgetownccf.bsky.social. If you are interested in all things #Medicaid, children and families, you should follow Georgetown CCF and individual accounts like @joanalker1.bsky.social to stay up to date

FYI - New @nhelp.bsky.social resource for those tracking HR 1/OBBBA #Medicaid work requirement implementation

New resource from @ncslorg.bsky.social for state legislators and those who support them on leg strategies for addressing the #Medicaid budget. Great resource as budget season begins & leg members understand new admin costs of HR 1/OBBBA www.ncsl.org/health/the-m...

Medical Frailty Exemptions Will Help with Medicaid Work Requirements Medical frailty policies will allow people with disabilities and chronic illnesses to be exempted from work reporting requirements and stay enrolled in Medicaid.

This builds on a piece I shared last month discussing the importance of the medical frailty exemption and considerations for states when implementing the #Medicaid work requirement www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2025/ho... #healthpolicy

Health Affairs Journal

New Health Affairs piece considers data states could use to inform how they identify individuals with "serious or complex medical conditions" who should be exempt from HR 1/OBBBA #Medicaid work requirements #healthpolicy www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...

MAJOR MEDICAID VICTORY IN FLORIDA Jacksonville, Florida — A federal judge found that Florida’s Medicaid notices “border on the incomprehensible,” and has ordered Florida’s Medicaid agency to immediately pause the termination of Medica...

🚨BREAKING NEWS - MAJOR MEDICAID VICTORY IN FLORIDA: Federal Court Orders Florida Medicaid to Halt Terminations and Reform “Incomprehensible” Notices After Finding Constitutional Violations. Learn more about the case and our advocacy with @flhealthjustice.bsky.social!

This is promising. Who do I hold accountable if it doesn't materialize?

"Unwinding had measurable impacts on patient access to prescription medications, but states that implemented protective policies were able to mitigate these changes." #healthpolicy #Medicaid

Iowa Doesn't Have Enough OB-GYNs. The State’s Abortion Ban Might Be Making It Worse. - KFF Health News Abortion bans like Iowa’s have put OB-GYNs under increasing strain and surveillance, complicating the standard medical treatments for miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, premature membrane rupture, and ot...

As many rural areas face worsening maternity care deserts, some physicians fear abortion laws could drive much-needed doctors out of state and dissuade others from moving in and establishing a practice. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

The State of Rural Primary Care in the United States Rural Americans face significant barriers to accessing adequate primary care; tailored federal and state programs can help address some of these challenges.

Bright spots in rural communities illuminate ways to expand primary care.

From mobile clinics and telehealth to community health workers, smart investments and rural-specific solutions can help make sure your zip code doesn't determine the care you get. bit.ly/44B2YlJ

Key takeaway: states are under immense pressure to enact complex changes to #Medicaid — implementing work requirements, assuming increased financial risk for erroneous payments, & more frequent eligibility redeterminations — all while striving to preserve the nation’s health coverage safety net.

How New Limits on State Provider Taxes Will Affect Medicaid Funding H.R. 1’s Medicaid provider tax changes are projected to reduce federal investments by nearly $226 billion over 10 years and cause 2.4 million people to lose coverage.

It's a new year and the work continues. ICYMI - here's an explainer of the provider tax changes in HR 1/OBBBA www.commonwealthfund.org/publications...

Nebraska to become first state implementing Medicaid work requirements Nebraska will become the first state in the nation to implement federal Medicaid work requirements, with enforcement beginning May 1, 2026, Governor Jim Pillen announced during a press conference with...

Looks like Nebraska will be the state to watch as they rush to implement #Medicaid work requirements in 2026, with community engagement set to become part of the enrollment and renewal criteria in May. www.1011now.com/2025/12/17/n...

Medical Frailty Exemptions Will Help with Medicaid Work Requirements Medical frailty policies will allow people with disabilities and chronic illnesses to be exempted from work reporting requirements and stay enrolled in Medicaid.

Who decides whether someone is considered medically frail under #Medicaid? As work requirements approach, a new analysis explains why state-level definitions will matter for access to coverage www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2025/ho... #healthpolicy

I agree that there didn't seem to be much in today's CIB, and, with formal guidance coming in June 2026, states really have their work cut out for them in order to start educating #Medicaid enrollees by September 2026 at the latest. www.medicaid.gov/federal-poli...

Tracking Implementation of the 2025 Reconciliation Law: Medicaid Work Requirements | KFF KFF's interactive tracks key data and policies that will affect how states implement Medicaid work requirements, which are required under the 2025 budget reconciliation law starting in January 2027. T...

Once again KFF has a a great tracker that you should bookmark if you're interested in #Medicaid work requirements: www.kff.org/medicaid/med...

New Work Rules Add Pressure to Missouri’s Strained SNAP System With more residents required to work to qualify for SNAP and funding shifting to states, Missouri’s system shows what may await programs across the country.

More than a yr ago, for example, a federal judge ruled that Missouri’s food aid system was “overwhelmed,” had wrongly denied assistance to applicants, & had caused many to go hungry as a “direct result of the system’s inadequacy.” #SNAP www.governing.com/policy/new-w...

Work Requirements, Expiration of Subsidies Will Leave Millions Without Insurance: William Schpero, PhD, MPhil, MPH | AJMC WIlliam Schpero, PhD, MPhil, MPH, from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medicine, discusses how the combination of the work requirements for Medicaid introduced in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and…

⭐️ CHPC Associate Center Director Dr. William Schpero did a short video feature for the American Journal of Managed Care: "Work Requirements, Expiration of Subsidies Will Leave Millions Without Insurance."

📹 Watch here:

Glad to see you've continued this line of inquiry. Keep me posted on your policy recommendations.

The State of Rural Primary Care in the United States Rural Americans face significant barriers to accessing adequate primary care; tailored federal and state programs can help address some of these challenges.

New analysis on rural primary care finds:

🏥 Demand for rural primary care physicians is projected to exceed supply by 2037
🚑 Nearly 1 in 4 rural adults used the ER for needs that could be treated in primary care
💻 Only 19% received primary care via telehealth, compared to 29% nationally

Details ⤵️