Medicaid Work Rules Surprise States

Adult Medicaid enrollees with serious health conditions may not be automatically exempt from new work rules, according to a new regulation from the Trump administration — the opposite of what state officials were informally told would be the case. 

Meanwhile, the administration is also proposing to give political appointees even more power over who gets health and science grant funding. 

Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Liz Essley Whyte of The Wall Street Journal, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. 

Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News reporter Lauren Sausser, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month,” about a patient with a temporary memory problem and a less forgettable $59,000 hospital bill. 

Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: 

Julie Rovner: KFF Health News and The Associated Press’ “Festering Infections to Untreated Cancer: ICE Detainees Describe Medical Neglect Across US,” by Rae Ellen Bichell, Claire Galofaro, Maia Rosenfeld, Renuka Rayasam, Aaron Kessler, and Byron Tau. 

Liz Essley Whyte: The Wall Street Journal’s “The Autism-Therapy Business Is Booming — And So Is the Billing Abuse,” by Christopher Weaver and Anna Wilde Mathews. 

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times’ “The Return of Blaming and Shaming in Public Health,” by Simar Bajaj. 

Margot Sanger-Katz: ProPublica’s “‘No One Is Watching’: How Trump Reversed Biden’s Crackdown on Gun Trafficking,” by Alec MacGillis and Ken B. Morales.