Opioid Deaths Are Falling, Though Proposed Medicaid Changes Could Disrupt Access to Treatment
Recent federal proposals may affect Medicaid coverage and treatment access at a time when opioid deaths are declining but future trends are uncertain.
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Recent federal proposals may affect Medicaid coverage and treatment access at a time when opioid deaths are declining but future trends are uncertain.
KFF data show that as of April 2025, 14 states plus DC use state-only dollars to provide health coverage to children regardless of immigration status, including 7 states that also do so for at least some adults.
Ultimately, assessing the impact of President Trump’s newest iteration of “Most Favored Nation” drug pricing depends on details that have yet to be fleshed out.
Taken together, if approved, these proposed budget cuts and other changes would fundamentally alter the nation’s HIV response which, along with the many other changes being proposed at HHS, does not bode well for making further gains in the fight against HIV.
Once Republicans in Congress get specific about Medicaid cuts, it will become more tangible and clearer who will be affected. Changes to the status quo in health care rarely get more popular when the details get filled in.
The budget resolution is unusual because it establishes different tracks for reconciliation in each chamber: House committees are instructed to increase deficits by $2.3 trillion, with major cuts to Medicaid; and Senate committees are instructed to increase deficits by what amounts to $5.8 trillion, without clear implications for Medicaid cuts.
The increase translates into an additional $35 billion to Medicare Advantage plans in 2026 compared to this year….The increase in payments is larger than for 2025 (3.7%) or 2024 (3.3%), but below the increase for 2023 (8.5%), and comes at a time of increasing scrutiny over Medicare Advantage payments.
While [the Title X family planning services] funding freeze could be the Trump administration’s first major salvo in its efforts to weaken and defund Planned Parenthood, more actions...to limit access to abortion and contraception are expected in the coming years.
… declining trust in the CDC and in the benefits of childhood vaccinations may complicate any efforts to address emerging public health challenges like the ongoing measles outbreak and the continued threat of bird flu
If the litigation brought by St. Luke’s is not successful, women in six states will continue to be unable to access abortion care in their states when they have a pregnancy-related emergency that puts their health at risk.
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