Sheldon Weisgrau
@acaresource.bsky.social
Health policy wonk, advocate, and reformer. Working to make Missouri healthier. Still not from around here.
New: With enhanced ACA premium subsidies expired and Medicaid cuts phasing in, the Congressional Budget Office expects the share of the population uninsured to rise above 10% for the first time since the ACA was implemented. www.cbo.gov/publication/...
I just took action with @theactionnetwork.bsky.social: No Everything Tax: Add Your Name. Take action here: actionnetwork.org/forms/no-eve...
No Everything Tax: Add Your Name
The politicians behind Amendment 5 just put the Everything Tax on Missouri's August 4 ballot. Higher taxes on groceries, medicine, and doctor visits, so the wealthy can pay less. Add your name as a pu...
actionnetwork.org
Across a range of measures, KFF’s latest poll finds significant concern about health care costs. Dig into the findings: https://on.kff.org/49XZyLG
9 in 10 Marketplace enrollees (90%) expect that the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits will have an impact on the amount they pay monthly for their health insurance, including 7 in 10 (69%) who say it will have a “major impact.” More from our latest poll: https://on.kff.org/4ptXoK8
With all the talk about ACA costs being out of control, they are actually quite similar to and slightly less than employer (group) health costs. The problem is health care costs, not the ACA.
How ACA Marketplace costs compare to employer-sponsored health insurance - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker
Prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), insurers selling coverage to individuals would deny people with serious pre-existing conditions and high-risk occupations, exclude coverage for certain services...
healthsystemtracker.org
Something I think gets lost in the debate over ACA enhanced premium tax credits: 65% of ACA marketplace enrollees have incomes under 200% of the poverty level ($31,300 for a single person). These are folks who make too much for Medicaid but don't have access to employer coverage.
Grantmakers in Health has opened nominations for the 2026 Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy and the Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy. More information and a link to submit nominations can be found here: www.gih.org/gih-news/gra...
Grantmakers In Health Seeks Nominations for 2026 Leadership and Advocacy Awards - Grantmakers In Health
Grantmakers In Health is pleased to announce a call for nominations for both its Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy and Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy.
gih.org
Translating support for the ACA into support at the ballot box is the challenge...
Larry Levitt@larrylevitt.bsky.social · 10mo agoNew: Broad support across the political spectrum for extending enhanced ACA premium tax credits.
New, and a big deal: Based on updated data and changes made by the Trump administration, we now estimate that ACA enrollees would see their out-of-pocket premiums increase by 114% if enhanced premium tax credits are allowed to expire. www.kff.org/affordable-c...
ACA Marketplace Premium Payments Would More than Double on Average Next Year if Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Expire | KFF
KFF estimates that, if Congress allows the enhanced premium tax credits to expire at the end of this year, ACA Marketplace enrollees on average would see their premium payments more than double next y...
kff.org
Unless Congress acts, health insurance premiums are going up. Way up. missouriindependent.com/2025/09/22/r... @urbaninstitute.bsky.social @missouriindependent.com.web.brid.gy
Close to 5M could become uninsured if Congress doesn’t extend subsidies, report says • Missouri Independent
Without congressional action, close to 5 million who buy their health insurance on Affordable Care Act marketplaces wouldn't be able to absorb the price hike.
missouriindependent.com
Georgia's Medicaid work requirement program spends more on administrative costs than on providing care and has enrolled less than 3% of the eligible population. Thanks to HR 1, we'll be rolling it out to the whole country. Senseless. @apnews.com apnews.com/article/geor...
Federal watchdog report on Georgia's Medicaid program raises concerns about administrative costs
A government watchdog has raised concerns about high administrative costs in Georgia's Medicaid program. The U.S.
apnews.com
The Republican tax and spending law cuts federal Medicaid spending in rural areas by $137 billion over a decade, much more than the temporary $50 billion rural health relief fund.
As many as 200,000 Missourians will lose their health insurance as a result of federal policies.
Larry Levitt@larrylevitt.bsky.social · 12mo agoNew: 14.2 million more people are expected to be uninsured due Republican Medicaid and ACA cuts, and if enhanced ACA tax credits expire at the end of this year. Here's how the coverage losses break down by state. www.kff.org/uninsured/ho...
As Medicaid Turns 60, Its Future Hangs in the Balance: mffh.org/news/as-medi...
As Medicaid Turns 60, Its Future Hangs in the Balance - Missouri Foundation for Health
Missouri holds a central role in the history of health care in the United States. Sixty years ago, on July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson traveled to Independence, Missouri, to stand side-by-si...
mffh.org
Medicaid cuts affect all: "The cuts to federal funding would likely damage state economies, lowering revenue for providers and then impacting other businesses in their supply chains — as well as the jobs and incomes of their workers..." @commonwealthfund.org www.healthcaredive.com/news/medicai...
Medicaid, SNAP cuts could lead to nearly 500,000 lost healthcare jobs: report
A large portion of the 1.2 million jobs that could be lost nationwide in 2029 would come from the healthcare sector, like roles at hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies and long-term care providers...
healthcaredive.com
Not to diminish the other harmful provisions in OBBB, but the coverage losses are what will cause the most damage to providers and (obviously) patients.
Larry Levitt@larrylevitt.bsky.social · last yr.Rural hospitals would not just be affected by restrictions on Medicaid provider taxes in the One Big Beautiful Bill. They would also be affected by a projected 10.9 million people losing health coverage from Medicaid and ACA cuts more broadly.
I wrote about the cruel farce that is Josh Hawley pretending to defend Medicaid & SNAP. Missouri’s failure to administer SNAP under *current* law is the subject of a 3 year lawsuit. Medicaid is also a mess. Hawley knows we can’t handle more red tape w/o dropping many more eligible people:
No one knows better than Josh Hawley that ‘work requirements’ are Medicaid cuts • Missouri Independent
No one knows better than Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley that "work requirements" are actually Medicaid cuts.
missouriindependent.com
Americans can expect higher premiums, deductibles, & out-of-pocket costs across Medicaid, Medicare, ACA, and employer coverage if House Republicans' recon bill is enacted. The latest from @andreaducas.bsky.social & @groundwork.bsky.social Andrés Arguello: www.americanprogress.org/article/hous...
House Republicans’ Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill Would Make Health Care More Expensive for Americans With Medicare and Other Insurance
A new Center for American Progress analysis shows how House Republican health care cuts would cost many families with Medicaid, Medicare, ACA marketplace plans, and job-based coverage up to thousands ...
americanprogress.org
"It is hard to articulate a comprehensible justification for ballooning the federal debt in service of saving fewer lives." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | This senator’s comment on Medicaid cuts was brutal but accurate
It is hard to articulate a justification for ballooning the federal debt in service of saving fewer lives.
washingtonpost.com
The original House bill would have led to about 10 million more uninsured people, according to CBO. The amended version that passed would lead to more people losing health insurance. If this bill gets enacted, it would represent the biggest rollback in federal support for health care ever.
More red tape and bureaucratic hassles. People who qualify for coverage falling through the cracks. Now Congress wants to expand failed programs like Georgia Pathways to all 50 states. We already know this doesn't work. Why is it even on the table? www.propublica.org/article/geor... @propublica.org
He Became the Face of Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement. Now He’s Fed Up With It.
A 54-year-old mechanic called Pathways to Coverage a “great program” at the governor’s press conference. But after getting kicked off the health insurance program for low-income Georgians twice, burea...
propublica.org
Medicaid plays a vital role in rural Missouri, covering nearly a quarter of residents. Cuts will disproportionally harm rural communities, resulting in higher uninsurance and larger disparities with urban areas. #equity sites.wustl.edu/cahsper/item... @cahsperiph.bsky.social @mcbridetd.bsky.social
Health Insurance Coverage in Rural and Urban Missouri
by Xiaoyu Huang, MSW Candidate; Sarah A. Eisenstein, PhD; and Timothy D. McBride, PhD, MS | May 2025 This brief explores comparisons of insurance coverage for persons living in rural and urban…
sites.wustl.edu
Medicaid cuts won't make America healthy again. They will make millions of Americans uninsured again.
Edwin Park@edwincpark.bsky.social · last yr.CBO issues estimates of enrollment/coverage losses from major #Medicaid cut proposals under discussion by House GOP. As expected millions lose Medicaid coverage and end up uninsured. But these estimates are of each proposal separately and don't show the cumulative impact: www.cbo.gov/publication/...
Medicaid cuts = loss of these benefits.
William Schpero@wschpero.bsky.social · last yr.Important, timely new findings on the effects of Medicaid expansion under the ACA from Wyse and Meyer (Dartmouth): 1. *Lives saved*: 21% reduction in the mortality hazard of new enrollees. 2. *Cost-effective*: $179,000 per life-year saved. Read more: www.nber.org/papers/w33719
New research shows that many choose coverage through Medicaid expansion rather than disability, offsetting more than half of Missouri's expansion costs. Cuts would increase the state's cost of covering these enrollees. sites.wustl.edu/cahsper/item... @mcbridetd.bsky.social @cahsperiph.bsky.social
Changes in Missouri Medicaid Enrollment: Adult Expansion Group and Disability Over the 2021-2024 Period
by Timothy D. McBride, PhD, MS; Sarah A. Eisenstein, PhD; and Claire Ami Pavlides, MPH Candidate | April 2025 The expansion of Medicaid in Missouri was approved by voters in Missouri through the pa…
sites.wustl.edu
The cost and burden to state eligibility and enrollment systems is a huge barrier. Some states can't effectively carry out their current work, much less adding more frequent reviews and (perhaps) work requirements to the mix.
Edwin Park@edwincpark.bsky.social · last yr.House GOP may require states to conduct more frequent #Medicaid eligibility redeterminations (and may also repeal current 12-months continuous eligibiilty for children). My colleague Tricia Brooks looks at past experience in TX to show the likely harmful impact: ccf.georgetown.edu/2025/05/01/t...
Legislators who vote for Medicaid cuts are shooting their states in the foot. Coverage and job losses, hospital closures, loss of tax dollars, and budget crises are the result. In Missouri, billions of dollars and coverage for hundreds of thousands of people are at stake. mffh.org/news/cuts-to...
Cuts to Medicaid Affect All Missourians - Missouri Foundation for Health
The U.S. Congress is currently at work on a budget to set future tax and spending policy. As the House and Senate quickly work through the process (leaders have targeted Memorial Day to complete the ...
mffh.org
Majorities of Americans oppose cuts to Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, public health, and other programs. So why is Congress moving forward anyway with these cuts? www.kff.org/health-costs... @kff.org
KFF Health Tracking Poll April 2025: Public’s View on Major Cuts to Federal Health Agencies | KFF
Amid sweeping cuts to federal government health agencies by the Trump Administration, much of the public opposes cuts to funding and staffing, including some Republicans. Support of many of these cuts...
kff.org
Federal cuts could reduce Missouri's #Medicaid budget by nearly $4 billion per year and leave 350,000 uninsured. This will destabilize the health care system and reduce access for everybody. mffh.org/news/cuts-to... #MOHealthNet
Cuts to Medicaid Affect All Missourians - Missouri Foundation for Health
The U.S. Congress is currently at work on a budget to set future tax and spending policy. As the House and Senate quickly work through the process (leaders have targeted Memorial Day to complete the ...
mffh.org