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Under the reconciliation package, federal Medicaid spending in rural areas is estimated to decline by $137 billion, more than the $50 billion appropriated for the rural health fund.
This policy watch provides an update on the status of abortion restrictions in states that passed a constitutional amendment protecting abortion, or where a state court previously interpreted the state constitution as protecting abortion access.
This policy watch discusses a recent policy change by the Department of Health and Human Services that bars several groups of immigrants from accessing an updated list of "federal public benefits".
This policy watch examines 988 on its third anniversary, drawing from the latest Lifeline data available through May 2025 and suicide death data from CDC WONDER for the period 2013 to 2023. 988 received 16.5 million contacts since its launch in July 2022, including 11.2 million calls, 2.9 million texts, and 2.4 million chats.
On June 27, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion on Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, ruling that the ACA requirement that most private insurers and Medicaid expansion programs cover preventive services recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) with no cost-sharing is constitutional.
The Supreme Court's ruling in Medina v. Planned Parenthood of the South Atlantic means that Medicaid enrollees in South Carolina, and in other states that exclude Planned Parenthood going forward, will not be able to use their Medicaid coverage to obtain any preventive services, such as contraceptive care, STI treatment and cancer screenings, at Planned Parenthood clinics.
The House of Representatives recently passed a budget reconciliation bill that would appropriate funding for cost-sharing reductions that insurers are required to provide to low-income enrollees in the Affordable Care Act marketplace. This policy watch explains what these cost-sharing reductions are, how they relate to federal spending, and what effect appropriating funding might have on premiums and the uninsured rate.
This brief looks at changes to Marketplace plans recently finalized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that may incentivize insurers to make their plans less generous. With less generous plans, consumers could face higher out-of-pocket costs, though those who don't qualify for premium tax credits could see lower premiums.
This policy watch discusses the data privacy protections in Medicaid and the implications of breaches or violations of those protections.
Prior KFF analysis allocated CBO’s federal Medicaid spending reductions and enrollment losses across the states, and this policy watch builds on that analysis to examine the potential impacts in expansion states compared with non-expansion states.
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