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Change to Census Data Processing Methods Threatens Health Policy Research and Federal Data Systems
On June 4, 2026, the Commerce Department issued Department Administrative Order (DAO) 216-26, Disclosure Avoidance for Statistical Products, which bans a class of privacy techniques called “noise infusion” in all data products coming out of the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). This order, which was made effective immediately without opportunity for…
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Weaponizing Fraud Against Medicaid in California and Minnesota: Another Quarter, Another Round of Deferrals
At a July 21 press conference, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz announced that his agency was deferring payment of $1.1 billion in federal Medicaid matching funds to California and Minnesota “pending review of high-risk claims in crackdown on fraud.” The amount of the California deferral was $867.5 million; the Minnesota deferral, $199.0 million. CMS has previously taken…
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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), Duckworth (IL), Lujan (NM) and Padilla (CA) – all Democrats and the bill was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. As regular readers of the…
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CMS Issues New Rule Again Going Beyond H.R. 1 Requirements to Further Restrict State Use of Medicaid Provider Taxes
On July 21, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a new proposed rule that would implement two of H.R. 1’s restrictions on states’ use of provider taxes to finance their share of Medicaid costs. H.R. 1 included three provider tax restrictions: (1) a prohibition on new provider taxes and increases in…
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Trump Administration Issues Final Public Charge Rule, Ignores Public Comments on 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 rule, which takes effect on September 18, eliminates a century of established policy, carefully calibrated to address policy issues and undefined terms in…