Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Trump’s White House Return Poised To Tangle Health Care Safety Net

The new Trump administration is likely to reduce subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance plans and roll back Medicaid coverage. Public health authorities worry that anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be empowered.

California Expanded Medi-Cal to Unauthorized Residents. The Results Are Mixed.

California this year completed its Medi-Cal expansion to include income-eligible residents regardless of their immigration status. This final installment of the “Faces of Medi-Cal” series profiles three of those newly eligible patients and how coverage has affected their health.

Election Outcome Could Bring Big Changes to Medicare

Democrats and conservatives are divided over whether the federal health program for people over 65 should be run almost entirely by the private sector. If Trump retakes the White House, the shift to Medicare Advantage may accelerate.

What’s at Stake: A Pivotal Election for Six Big Health Issues

Health care has ebbed and surged as an election issue throughout the presidential campaign. Here are the ways some of the most consequential changes in health policies could hinge on whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump wins.

For People With Opioid Addiction, Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Raises the Stakes

Medications such as methadone can cut the risk of a fatal opioid overdose in half. Medicaid covers the medication. But as state Medicaid programs reevaluated coverage of each enrollee following a pause in disenrollments during the covid-19 pandemic, some patients lost a crucial pillar of their sobriety.

‘Dreamers’ Can Enroll in ACA Plans This Year — But a Court Challenge Could Get in the Way

Nineteen states are seeking to stall a Biden administration rule that would allow recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to enroll in ACA coverage and qualify for subsidies. DACA provides work authorization and temporary deportation protection to people brought to the U.S. as children without immigration paperwork.