Medicaid

A steep enrollment drop that started in spring 2023 appears to have ended. Newly posted numbers from the state show 4.372 million people were enrolled in August, up from 4.363 million in July.

Among the state's greatest challenges are health care coverage, access and affordability for women, according to the Commonwealth Fund report.

Texas hospitals who are enrolled in state health plans, Medicaid and CHIP will start asking patients' immigration status in November. Florida has had a similar law since 2023.

More than 1 million Americans use Medicaid to get addiction treatments like methadone. But as states update their systems, some patients have lost coverage. Even a short gap can be life-threatening.

Advocates have feared the unwinding would trigger a rise in the uninsured rate, but states, private insurers and others launched intense efforts to ensure they did not experience gaps in coverage.

Tampa-based U.S. District Judge William Jung issued an injunction in July to halt the rule, which was designed to help prevent discrimination in health care programs that receive federal money.

The settlement had been in the works for more than a year, including AHCA going through a rule-making process to provide “medically necessary” incontinence supplies to adults, according to court documents.

All three plans filed the challenges after getting shut out of receiving contracts to manage care for Medicaid beneficiaries.

As Florida and other states wait for Deloitte to make fixes in computer systems, Medicaid beneficiaries risk losing access to health care and food.

Florida KidCare, a childhood insurance option for some parents who lost coverage, is failing to offset the coverage gap left by the Medicaid unwinding.