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Monday, August 31 · 76 stories
- State Policy · MI
Detroit Art Exhibition Highlights Black Maternal Mortality Crisis Amid Michigan Medicaid Cuts
Mothering Justice and the ARIAH Foundation are hosting In Her Honor in Detroit August 26-28, an art exhibition and community event series spotlighting Black maternal mortality, where Black women die at three times the rate of white women from pregnancy-related causes. The event highlights Michigan-specific challenges including 15 counties with little to no birthing facilities, recent Planned Parenthood clinic closures, and federal Medicaid funding cuts. Organizers emphasize that 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable and aim to humanize the crisis through portraits and stories of families affected by maternal mortality.
- State Policy · WV
West Virginia Advocates Warn H.R. 1 Medicaid Work Requirements Could Drop 40,000-75,000 Enrollees
West Virginians for Affordable Health Care projects that H.R. 1's monthly work reporting requirements, effective January 1, 2027, could terminate coverage for 40,000 to 75,000 of the state's 160,000 Medicaid expansion enrollees — not due to ineligibility, but administrative burdens. The legislation imposes 80-hour monthly work or qualifying activity verification for adults 19-64, with advocates citing Arkansas's 2018 experience where 18,000 people lost coverage in seven months with no employment gains. The advocacy group argues rural hospital support legislation introduced by Sen. Capito contradicts support for H.R. 1, which cuts over $1 trillion from Medicaid over a decade.
- State Policy · CA
California Bill Directs State to Partner With Manufacturers on Lower-Cost GLP-1s Under CalRx
California Senate Bill 1089 would direct the state to seek partnerships with drug manufacturers to produce lower-cost GLP-1 medications through its CalRx program, which currently distributes insulin, albuterol, and naloxone. The bill, authored by Sen. Laura Richardson, originally sought to mandate GLP-1 coverage by CalPERS but was revised after the insurer estimated premiums would increase $28 per member monthly. The legislation follows California's elimination of Medi-Cal coverage for GLP-1s prescribed for obesity treatment due to budget pressures, though coverage remains for diabetes indications. GLP-1 prescriptions for weight loss in California jumped from 20,000 to 700,000 between 2018 and 2023, with Medi-Cal spending $416.8 million on weight-loss GLP-1s in 2023 before cutting the benefit.
- State Policy · MO
Missouri Labor and Reproductive Rights Coalition Targets Lawmakers Over Paid Sick Leave Repeal
A coalition of Missouri labor unions and reproductive rights groups launched a $1 million campaign in August 2026 to defeat Republican lawmakers who voted to repeal the state's paid sick leave requirement. The partnership builds on years of successful ballot campaigns that expanded Medicaid in 2020, approved abortion rights and higher minimum wage with paid sick leave in 2024, and defeated Amendments 4 and 5 in August 2026. Voters will face another test in November 2026 when asked to repeal the 2024 abortion rights amendment and reinstate an abortion ban. The coalition's organizing approach connects labor and reproductive rights issues in ways that resonate with voters in a Republican-controlled state.
- State Policy · MS
Mississippi Social Worker Calls for Statewide CCBHC Expansion, Workforce Incentives to Address Rural Mental Health Gaps
A Mississippi social worker argues that the state must expand Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics statewide, strengthen workforce recruitment through loan repayment and salary incentives, and improve transportation access to address persistent mental health service gaps in rural counties. More than half of Mississippi is designated as a mental health professional shortage area, with some counties lacking licensed clinicians entirely. While recent Division of Medicaid telehealth expansion and CCBHC growth have increased access points, progress remains uneven due to inadequate broadband infrastructure, workforce shortages, and lack of culturally responsive services for minority populations. The opinion piece frames expanded community-based mental health infrastructure as essential to reducing emergency room utilization, suicide risk, and avoidable criminal justice involvement in underserved communities.
- State Policy · MS
Mississippi Opens Second Opioid Settlement Grant Cycle with Third-Party Administrator
The Mississippi Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Council will open its second annual grant application portal on Monday, August 31, 2026, for organizations seeking access to the state's $430 million in opioid settlement funds. The application process will run for six weeks, administered by The Steadman Group, a Colorado-based behavioral health consulting firm contracted to address conflicts of interest and inconsistent review standards identified in the previous cycle. The 2026 Mississippi Legislature mandated third-party administration to prevent council members from influencing applications that could benefit their own organizations. Final funding recommendations will go to the Legislature during the 2027 regular session.
- State Policy · ID
Idaho Legislature Considers New Oversight for Youth Residential Facilities, Hospital Medicaid Billing
Idaho's Joint Legislative Oversight Committee received a progress report showing 13 of 19 recommendations completed to improve oversight of children's residential facilities, following gaps identified in a 2025 evaluation. Lawmakers indicated they plan to address four remaining recommendations requiring legislative action, including extending licensing authority to cover treatment oversight and creating new staffing requirements. Separately, the committee voted to direct the Office of Performance Evaluations to investigate whether Idaho hospitals are upcoding Medicaid claims by billing for more expensive services than necessary. The residential facility changes stem from findings of inadequate abuse investigations, lack of unannounced visits, and no formal process for informing children of their rights at foster care and treatment facilities.
- State Policy · WV
West Virginia Finalizing $39 Million in Rural Health Transformation Awards, Faces Federal Deadline
West Virginia's Department of Health is finalizing agreements to award approximately $39 million in federal Rural Health Transformation funding and is on track to obligate the full $199 million first-year allocation by an October 30 federal deadline, Health Secretary Arvin Singh told state legislators Monday. The state reduced consulting fees to KGMP from an estimated $12 million to approximately $8 million and expects to spend about $10 million in administrative costs instead of the budgeted $18.8 million. The state plans to reinvest the $8 million in administrative savings into programmatic spending. Recipient names will not be released until grant agreements are executed, and the state anticipates year 2 funding announcements on October 31.
- State Policy · MD
Maryland Insurers Warn AHEAD Model Transition Could Shift Hospital Costs to Commercial Payers
Maryland is transitioning from its Total Cost of Care model to the AHEAD (Achieving Healthcare Efficiency through Accountable Design) model, which will remove the state's authority to set Medicare hospital rates starting in 2028. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield officials warned at a Maryland Association of Counties conference that the federal government is expected to contribute less under AHEAD than under the previous all-payer rate-setting system, likely shifting costs to commercial insurance. The Health Service Cost Review Commission will continue setting rates for non-Medicare payers, but insurers anticipate rate increases for counties, businesses, and individuals as the transition unfolds.
- State Policy · MD
Maryland Rate-Setting Commission Chair and Executive Director Depart During AHEAD Model Transition
Health Services Cost Review Commission Chair Joshua Sharfstein and Executive Director Jon Kromm left the commission in July 2026 as Maryland transitions from the Total Cost of Care model to the AHEAD model. Both officials joined HSCRC in 2023 and negotiated with federal officials under two administrations on Maryland's hospital rate-setting authority. William Henderson will serve as interim executive director; no new chair has been named. The leadership change occurs as the state implements a multiyear transition to AHEAD after the previous all-payer model expired December 31, 2025, with ongoing uncertainty about Maryland's authority to set Medicare rates following Trump administration renegotiation of the original 2024 agreement.
- State Policy · MI
Michigan Lawmakers Introduce Bills to Create Medicaid Buy-In Program
State Rep. Mai Xiong and State Sen. John Cherry introduced legislation in Michigan to create a Medicaid buy-in program that would expand health coverage access for low-income residents. The bills were announced on Wednesday, August 27, 2026. The legislation aims to allow individuals who do not currently qualify for traditional Medicaid to purchase coverage through the program. The proposal would expand coverage options for Michigan residents with incomes above current Medicaid eligibility thresholds but who may struggle to afford private insurance.
- State Policy · LA
Louisiana Childcare Providers Face Closure After State Centralizes Birth-to-3 Program Eligibility Processing
Louisiana early childhood care providers report financial crisis after the state Department of Education centralized paperwork processing for the Birth-to-3 Program in spring 2026, moving it from local community networks to Baton Rouge. Many families did not recognize centralized notices and missed the annual reapplication deadline. Children were dropped from the program on July 6, but remain enrolled at centers whose owners report they cannot turn children away. Providers are now absorbing unreimbursed care costs — one center in St. Bernard Parish lost over $19,000 on two infants, while another in Port Allen faced loss of funding for 18 children. The Birth-to-3 Program provides subsidized childcare for Louisiana's most underserved age group, children age 3 and younger.
- State Policy · AR
Arkansas Disability Waiver Waitlist Reaches 8,233 as Families Report Coverage Gaps Under PASSE
Arkansas has 8,233 people waiting for the Community and Employment Services Medicaid waiver, which covers home modifications and supportive living services for Arkansans with disabilities. Families report that the state's PASSE managed care program, launched in 2018 and serving 46,564 Arkansans with complex disabilities, does not cover equipment previously available, such as ceiling lifts for transferring wheelchair users. Disability advocates say managed care's focus on low-cost preventative care does not align with the needs of people with complex disabilities. The article also references unspecified federal policy changes affecting home- and community-based services requirements, though details are not provided in the excerpt.
- State Policy · KY
Kentucky Maintained Pandemic-Era Medicaid Treatment Waivers After Other States Restored Prior Authorization
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear lifted Medicaid prior authorization requirements for substance use disorder treatment in 2020 to increase access during COVID-19. While more than 40 other states restored these controls as the pandemic waned, Kentucky kept the relaxed standards through 2025. State Medicaid spending on behavioral health and addiction treatment reached $2.3 billion in 2024, with warnings from Medicaid insurers and the attorney general's office about fraud and subpar care. The largest treatment provider, Addiction Recovery Care, became the state's top Medicaid recipient during this period.
- State Policy · CA
California Uninsured Rate Projected to Nearly Double to 15% by 2030
Analysis from UC Berkeley Labor Center and UCLA Center for Health Policy Research projects California's uninsured rate could rise from 5% to nearly 15% by 2030, with an estimated 2.2 million residents losing coverage due to state budget cuts and new federal restrictions. The losses will disproportionately affect undocumented immigrants and low-income residents, with uninsured rates more than doubling among Black and Asian Californians. Southern California will experience the sharpest coverage losses due to its higher concentration of low-income and immigrant populations. The rollback reverses California's 2024 achievement of 95% coverage after expanding Medi-Cal eligibility regardless of immigration status.
- State Policy · AK
Alaska Awards First $4.5 Million in Rural Health Transformation Grants
The Alaska Department of Health announced awards of $4.5 million to 19 projects, the first installment of the state's $272 million allocation from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program created by Congress in 2025. The program was designed to offset impact from nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid spending cuts enacted in HR 1, including new work and community engagement requirements for Medicaid enrollees taking effect January 2027. Alaska will require some Medicaid beneficiaries to renew enrollment every six months under the new requirements. State officials will announce additional awards each Friday as reviews are finalized ahead of an October deadline.
- State Policy · NE
Nebraska Advocates Demand Pause on Medicaid Disability Funding Cuts From New Assessment Tool
Roughly 200 advocates, families, and state lawmakers gathered at Nebraska's Capitol on August 19, 2026, to protest funding reductions resulting from the state's new interRAI assessment system for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The tool, implemented in July 2025 to determine Medicaid service levels and funding tiers, has reportedly downgraded many individuals from advanced to intermediate care despite unchanged needs — reducing one-on-one services to group settings. Families presented cases where the assessment misrepresented capabilities and created safety risks. Advocates are calling on Governor Jim Pillen to pause all funding cuts until an independent evaluation is conducted, with a petition drawing nearly 4,000 supporters.
- State Policy · KS
Kansas Diverts $24 Million From I/DD Waitlist Reduction as Backlog Hits 5,348
Kansas lawmakers confronted state officials after the Department for Aging and Disability Services shifted $24 million intended to reduce the intellectual and developmental disability waitlist to services for the frail elderly and brain injury populations. The I/DD waitlist grew to 5,348 in August 2026, exceeding statutory caps of 4,800 for FY2025 and 4,000 for FY2026. KDADS Secretary Laura Howard said the transfer, made with legislative consent, prevented waitlists from forming in other populations, and urged lawmakers to appropriate additional funding in the January 2027 session. The Legislature's Medicaid oversight committee expressed frustration over the failure to meet statutory requirements and provide a strategic waitlist reduction plan.
- State Policy · MN
Minnesota Medicaid Spending Projected to Reach $29B by 2029
Minnesota's Medicaid spending is projected to reach $29 billion by 2029, outpacing state tax revenue growth. The acceleration is driven by rising healthcare costs, a growing elderly population, and federal funding cuts. State budget officials face increasing pressure to address the gap between Medicaid expenditure growth and available revenue. The projection signals potential state budget constraints that could affect provider rates, managed care capitation, and program eligibility in coming years.
- State Policy · PA
Pennsylvania Governor Race Centers on Medicaid Work Rules, Fraud Enforcement, and Expansion Coverage
Pennsylvania's 2026 gubernatorial race between Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity focuses heavily on Medicaid policy, particularly implementation of 2025 federal budget law changes affecting 2.9 million enrollees. The federal law imposes work requirements and semi-annual eligibility reviews for Medicaid expansion adults, with Pennsylvania estimating over 310,000 will lose coverage due to administrative barriers. Shapiro joined a multi-state lawsuit challenging CMS work requirement exceptions and opposes the federal cuts, while Garrity supports implementing the law's fraud provisions and requiring independent performance audits of state Medicaid programs. The candidates also differ on abortion coverage under Medicaid and false claims whistleblower legislation.