Work Requirements Might Cut Medicaid Spending. But at What Cost?聽
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This fall, the U.S. Government Accountability Office expects to release a report on how much it costs to run Georgia Pathways to Coverage 鈥 the country鈥檚 only active Medicaid work requirement program 鈥 as other states and Congress consider similar programs.
Republicans in Congress have suggested big cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The complex, multifaceted program touches millions of Americans and has become deeply woven into state budgets and the U.S. health care system.
Republicans in Congress have suggested big cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The complex, multifaceted program touches millions of Americans and has become deeply woven into state budgets and the U.S. health care system.
As Republicans consider adding work requirements to Medicaid, Georgia and Arkansas 鈥 two states with experience running such programs 鈥 want to scale back the key parts supporters have argued encourage employment and personal responsibility.
It鈥檚 common for young people leaving jails and prisons to end up back behind bars, often after lapses related to untreated mental health issues or substance abuse. A new law is aimed at getting them on Medicaid before they鈥檙e released. But the government coordination required to make it happen is significant.
A group of Democratic senators asked the Government Accountability Office to examine a Georgia program that requires some Medicaid enrollees to work, study, or volunteer 80 hours a month for coverage. They cited 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 reporting, which has documented the program鈥檚 high costs and low enrollment.
Georgia鈥檚 ability to process applications for Medicaid and other public benefits has lagged since the launch of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp鈥檚 鈥淧athways鈥 Medicaid work requirement, leaving Georgia with persistently slow Medicaid application processing times.
Pregnant women are being asked to make large cash payments months before they deliver their babies. Some patient advocates worry this billing practice allows providers to hold treatment hostage.
麻豆女优 Health News senior correspondents Fred Clasen-Kelly and Renuka Rayasam discuss how government decisions undermine Black health.
The United States has made almost no progress in closing racial health disparities despite promises, research shows. The government, some critics argue, is often the underlying culprit.
Extended-stay hotels are often a last resort for low-income families trying to avoid homelessness. But hotel living can lead to 鈥 or exacerbate 鈥 various physical and mental health issues for children, say advocates for families and researchers who study homelessness.
John Parker was in first grade when he was struck by a pickup truck driving on Durham鈥檚 Cheek Road, which lacks sidewalks to this day. Neighborhoods with no sidewalks, damaged walkways, and roads with high speed limits are concentrated in Black neighborhoods, research finds.
The recent shooting at Apalachee High School outside of Atlanta caused more than physical wounds. Medical experts worry a lack of mental health resources in the community 鈥 and in Georgia as a whole 鈥 means few options for those trying to cope with trauma from the shooting.
Georgia must decide soon whether to try to extend a limited Medicaid expansion that requires participants to work. Enrollment fell far short of goals in the first year, and the state isn鈥檛 yet able to verify participants are working.
For years, federal lawmakers have failed to deliver the money needed to fix derelict public housing, leaving tenants 鈥 mostly people of color and families with low incomes 鈥 living with mold and gun violence that has had lasting health consequences.
Suffering stomach pain, a Dallas man visited his local urgent care clinic 鈥 or so he thought, until he got a bill 10 times what he鈥檇 expected.
The makers of Ozempic and Mounjaro charge list prices of around $1,000 a month for the diabetes and obesity drugs, and insurers are reluctant to pick up the tab. Often, low-income patients have to resort to less effective treatments.
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