We’ve update our Medicaid enrollment tracker and the news for children isn’t good. Since January 2025 there has been a shocking drop of 2.3 million kids enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP. This means the child uninsured rate is likely going up.
Joan Alker
@joanalker1.bsky.social
ED of Georgetown Center for Children and Families and Research Professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy; post mostly about Medicaid and CHIP. Proud member of the “Best for Last” club.
More than numbers: Inside Indiana’s Medicaid enrollment decline www.newsfromthestates.com/article/more...
More than numbers: Inside Indiana’s Medicaid enrollment decline
KEY POINTS Indiana is among the top states for Medicaid enrollment drops — falling by more than 343,000 people in one year — a decline of 18.5%. Procedural closures outpaced determinations that benefi...
newsfromthestates.com
A must read - a preview of what’s to come en masse when Medicaid work reporting requirements start nationwide. A pregnant woman loses coverage by mistake.. long waits lines for the call center.. People are scared. nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news...
Nebraska becomes first state to disenroll Medicaid recipients under new work requirements
The first work requirement-related disenrollments begin in Nebraska on Saturday. While the state Medicaid director estimates this will impact 200 Nebraskans, advocates are concerned that the number wi...
nebraskapublicmedia.org
From @joanalker1.bsky.social a CCF blog post on the Trump Administration finalizing its "public charge" rule which will reduce #Medicaid and CHIP enrollment among eligible children and lead to further increases in the child uninsured rate: ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/07/24/t...
Trump Administration Issues Final Public Charge Rule And Ignores Public Comments on the Harm to Children
On July 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued final regulations lifting current rules used to determine whether an immigrant is likely to become a “public charge”. The final...
ccf.georgetown.edu
Update: Witnesses for next week's hearing have been announced and they are: Brian Blase, Paragon Jonathan Ingram, Foundation for Govt Accountability our own Andy Schneider, Georgetown CCF...
Joan Alker@joanalker1.bsky.social · last wk.New Senate Budget Ctte Chair, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), has announced that his 1st hearing will be about Medicaid. Title: "Medicaid The Reality" Tuesday, August 4th at 10am No more info yet. www.budget.senate.gov/hearings/med...
New: Judge denied request from blue state AGs for a preliminary injunction to hold up parts of the Medicaid work requirement, but put the case on an expedited schedule and made clear that his ruling doesn’t pertain to the merits of the case Ruling here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction – #94 in Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Oz (D. Mass., 1:26-cv-12962) – CourtListener.com
Judge Richard G. Stearns: ORDER entered denying 2 Motion for Preliminary Injunction. (RGS, law3) (Entered: 07/29/2026)
storage.courtlistener.com
Sadly, children will continue to have to wait for health care they desperately need in Florida. Judge won’t order state to implement expanded access to KidCare floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/28/j...
Judge won't order state to implement expanded access to KidCare • Florida Phoenix
A state judge has refused to order Florida health care officials to implement a 2023 law that would allow as many as 68,000 uninsured children to access subsidized health insurance coverage through th...
floridaphoenix.com
My new blog: Short summary I like this bill. ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/07/28/s...
Senator Kim Introduces Bill to Cover All Children and Young Adults
Last week, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) introduced a bill called the “MediKids Act” (S. 5037), described as “guaranteed healthcare for every child in America.” Original cosponsors were Sens. Booker (NJ), Duck...
ccf.georgetown.edu
New Senate Budget Ctte Chair, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), has announced that his 1st hearing will be about Medicaid. Title: "Medicaid The Reality" Tuesday, August 4th at 10am No more info yet. www.budget.senate.gov/hearings/med...
Medicaid: The Reality | U.S. Senate Committee On The Budget
The Official U.S. Senate Committee On The Budget
budget.senate.gov
Today is the day that the request for a preliminary injunction in the case Massachusetts v Oz will be heard in Boston. This case is the D Ags suing the Trump Administration about the Medicaid work reporting requirements regulation and its divergence from statute.
"Of the 2,173 Arkansas women who qualified for Medicaid to cover their pregnancies and births but did not qualify for regular Medicaid, only 145 had another insurance option lined up and waiting for them on day 61."
Joan Alker@joanalker1.bsky.social · 2w agoPostpartum women go without care as Arkansas holds out as lone state to deny them Medicaid arktimes.com/arkansas-blo...
Postpartum women go without care as Arkansas holds out as lone state to deny them Medicaid arktimes.com/arkansas-blo...
Postpartum women go without care as Arkansas holds out as lone state to deny them Medicaid - Arkansas Times
Guess which state is the only one in the country that doesn't extend Medicaid to postpartum mothers for a year.
arktimes.com
From the final version of the Trump Administration's "public charge" rule: "DHS received 8,846 comments on the proposed rule, the majority of which opposed the rule. Following careful consideration of public comments received, DHS is issuing this final rule as proposed."
New: The last of the major rules implementing HR 1 Medicaid cuts is out - limits on states’ ability to use provider taxes to fund their share of Medicaid. Comments due 9/21. We will have a blog up soon. cms.gov/newsroom/fact-…
cms.gov
Trump administration says it’s deferring $1B in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota www.statnews.com/2026/07/21/m...
Trump administration says it's deferring $1B in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota
The Trump administration said it was deferring more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to Minnesota and California because of “suspected fraud and noncompliance.”
statnews.com
Nebraska is implementing Medicaid work reporting rules early -- they apply to new applicants already; current enrollees do not have to comply yet. The state has received an exception for residents of Dawson County b/c of high unemployment. dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Dawson...
Dawson County Approved for Temporary Exemption from Medicaid Work Requirements
dhhs.ne.gov
Huge kudos to our @georgetownccf.bsky.social team - our explainer on federal Medicaid work rules is here. ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/07/16/n...
New Federal Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements Rule Threatens Coverage for Vulnerable Americans: An Explainer of the Interim Final Rule
On June 1, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), published the Interim Final Rule with Comment (CMS-2454-IFC, hereafter referred to as the IFR) “Medicaid Program; Community Engagem...
ccf.georgetown.edu
Sorry for the mass layoffs that are making your job impossible. Here are some of my daughters pretzels.
Natalie Alms@almsnatalie.bsky.social · 3w agoNEW: The head of Social Security keeps sending SSA field offices pretzel gift baskets from his daughter's company. Staff told me that they haven't had the intended effect of boosting morale... but they have raised questions about ethics. More here 👇 www.notus.org/agencies/soc...
Our Medicaid enrollment tracker is updated. As of May there are 2.13 million fewer children covered by Medicaid since President Trump took office. The number continues to climb. Why is this a concern? B/c when the # of kids covered by Medicaid goes ⬇️ the # of uninsured kids goes ⬆️
DOGE wielded extraordinary power during the first months of the Trump administration. It was more important than any Cabinet official. The fact it has been completely memory-holed by this administration says much about its purpose and impact. federalnewsnetwork.com/agency-overs...
Vought: Trump admin won’t do DOGE after-action report | Federal News Network
OMB Director Russell Vought says there are no plans to do a closing report on DOGE's controversial, cost-cutting blitz across government.
federalnewsnetwork.com
Andy Schneider's blog explaining the latest on Medicaid work reporting requirements and the Trump Administration's overreach -- as a consequence CMS is being sued by blue states.... ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/07/02/m...
Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements: States Ask a Federal Court to Protect Medically Frail Individuals from CMS Overreach
On June 3, CMS issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) misinterpreting the work reporting requirements enacted last July in H.R. 1. The H.R. 1 provisions were bad enough, but as my colleague Leo Cuello ha...
ccf.georgetown.edu
“If you want to fight fraud, don’t take away money from states’ fraud control units. I chalk this up to more political theater to distract voters from historic Medicaid cuts before the midterms.” @joanalker1.bsky.social
Trump administration suspends funding for New York's Medicaid fraud unit
The Trump administration has frozen federal funding for New York's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Health and Human Services inspector general Thomas March Bell on Tuesday accused the state agency of not...
apnews.com
From @ewburak.bsky.social & @joanalker1.bsky.social Young Children’s Uninsurance is On the Rise – What Can Be Done to Protect Child Health? ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/06/26/y...
Young Children’s Uninsurance is On the Rise – What Can Be Done to Protect Child Health?
Earlier this month, we released an analysis of uninsurance trends that found that young children were becoming uninsured at a faster rate than their school-aged peers. The trend is alarming and predat...
ccf.georgetown.edu
Today Montana becomes the second state after Nebraska to implement Medicaid work reporting requirements. Given the rule was finalized just one month ago and had many changes there is no way the system there is ready.
Color me skeptical. Taking away a state's funding to prosecute Medicaid fraud is not a good way to reduce Medicaid fraud.
Ali Swenson@aliswenson.bsky.social · last mo.New: The Trump administration is freezing funding for New York’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which investigates and prosecutes health fraud. The administration says the unit's metrics aren't measuring up. State officials disagree and vow to fight it. apnews.com/article/medi...
Still time to sign up - come learn about Medicaid and upcoming changes to financing.
Joan Alker@joanalker1.bsky.social · last mo.@GeorgetownCCF will be holding a webinar on the basics of Medicaid financing next Tuesday June 30 at 230p ET. I say basics, but it’s complicated so come learn with us. The webinar is free and open to all. Register here: georgetown.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Important news.
Ali Swenson@aliswenson.bsky.social · last mo.New: Democrats in 25 states and the District of Columbia are suing the Trump administration over its recent guidance on new Medicaid work requirements, arguing the strict rules will prevent eligible Americans from accessing the care they need. apnews.com/article/medi...
Federal law guarantees 12 months of continuous coverage in Medicaid and CHIP for children. Preventing young children from falling through the cracks as states implement HR1 requires the attention of already-overextended state officials. w/ @joanalker1.bsky.social ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/06/26/y...
Young Children’s Uninsurance is On the Rise – What Can Be Done to Protect Child Health?
Earlier this month, we released an analysis of uninsurance trends that found that young children were becoming uninsured at a faster rate than their school-aged peers. The trend is alarming and predat...
ccf.georgetown.edu
@edwincpark.bsky.social and I blogged about new federal guidance on budget neutrality in Medicaid Section 1115 waivers. This is part of the tsunami of Medicaid cuts and changes hitting states in 2027 ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/06/25/t...
Trump Administration Issues Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver Financing Guidance Which Goes Far Further Than H.R. 1 (Again)
On Friday, June 11 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new guidance on the Secretary’s approach to implementing Section 1115(g) which was added to the Social Security Act by H....
ccf.georgetown.edu