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Transforming Perinatal Care in Colorado: Q&A with Elephant Circle Founder Indra Lusero

We have been watching and tracking all of the progress in states to improve Medicaid for pregnant and postpartum people during a period of rapid, positive change, even during the most recent legislative sessions under a backdrop of federal cuts. Colorado was one of the early states to pursue comprehensive maternal health initiatives, so we…

July 6, 2026

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Blog

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 has explained, the IFR imposes policies on states and individuals that the Congress did not enact. Most notably, the IFR makes…

July 2, 2026

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Blog

Professor, Mentor, Researcher, and Data Pioneer: Celebrating Lynn Blewett’s Retirement

I first met Lynn Blewett as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where her courses on the U.S. health care system fundamentally shaped how I understand policy and evidence. What struck me most was her ability to translate complex health systems into their human dimensions and to remind us…

July 1, 2026

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Anne Dwyer

Blog

Early Signals Suggest a Second Year of Double-Digit Marketplace Premium Increases

It’s the start of rate review season for state insurance departments. Although most proposed premium rates for 2027 Marketplace coverage are not due to federal regulators until mid-July and will not be public until the end of July, some state regulators require insurers to submit proposed rate filings in May or June and release varying levels of…

June 30, 2026

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Stacey Pogue

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Abigail Knapp

Blog

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.R. 1 – the President’s signature budget bill enacted last year. (Our explainer of the health provisions in the bill can be found…

June 25, 2026

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Edwin Park

Blog

Would Benjamin Franklin’s Volunteer Fire Brigade Satisfy DHHS’s Proposed Rule on Medicaid Work Reporting “Community Engagement” Requirements?

Americans, as French political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville observed in 1831, have a special propensity for coming together outside of government as volunteers for community improvement. From Benjamin Franklin’s organization of the nation’s first volunteer fire brigade to President George H. W. Bush’s 1989 call for Americans to volunteer as a “thousand points of light,”…

June 18, 2026

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Adam Searing

Blog

Which States Are Seeing the Largest Declines in Child Medicaid/CHIP Enrollment?

Georgetown CCF has been closely monitoring Medicaid/CHIP enrollment for many years — especially during periods of rapid change. Unfortunately, we are in another period where large declines in child Medicaid/CHIP enrollment are happening—more than 2 million fewer children have been enrolled since January 2025. Why is this bad news? Because children in working families don’t…

June 10, 2026

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Blog

Inside the 2026 Maternal Mental Health State Report Cards: No More Overall ‘F’s, But a Brand New Failing Grade for U.S. Parental Support

Last week, the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, in collaboration with the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, released the much-anticipated 2026 Maternal Mental Health State Report Cards. One in five mothers experience maternal mental health conditions in the United States. The financial toll of untreated disorders is estimated to cost…

June 3, 2026

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Blog

New Federal Medicaid Work Reporting Rule Threatens Coverage for Vulnerable Americans

Statement by Joan Alker, Executive Director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and Research Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy: “This rule gives states a raw deal, but more importantly, puts health care at risk for people with illnesses and chronic conditions like cancer or a substance use disorder. It…

June 2, 2026

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Uninsurance Among Youngest Children on the Rise as Families Face Growing Economic Pressure

Today we released a report sharing the alarming news that the number of infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children going without insurance is now at the highest rate in nearly a decade and is rising sharply. Not only did 220,000+ more young children (birth up to age 6) become uninsured between 2022 and 2024 –they lost…

June 1, 2026

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Elisabeth Wright Burak

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Aubrianna Osorio

Research & Reports

Uninsured Rate for Young Children Rose More Sharply than for Older Children from 2022-2024

Key Findings The number of infants, toddlers and preschoolers who are uninsured is at the highest level in nearly a decade and is increasing more sharply than for older children. The number of uninsured children under age 6 grew by 23% between 2022 and 2024, while the number of uninsured school-aged children grew by 17%. The charts and appendix…

June 1, 2026

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Elisabeth Wright Burak

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Aubrianna Osorio

and

Blog

Two Million Fewer Children are Enrolled in Medicaid Since Trump Took Office

Child uninsured rate likely on the rise Our state-by-state Medicaid/CHIP enrollment tracker now indicates that 2 million fewer children were enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as of April 2026, as compared to January 2025 when President Trump took office. That steep drop in the number of children enrolled in Medicaid…

May 28, 2026

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Blog

CMS Triples Harmful Impact of HR 1 Medicaid Provider Cuts in State Directed Payment Proposed Rule

Massive Overreach will Undermine Access to Health Care for People Covered by Medicaid Last week, on May 20, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed regulation on state-directed payments (SDP). SDPs are a mechanism for states to improve managed care payments to providers (some previous background is here). Using SDPs,…

May 28, 2026

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Leonardo Cuello

Blog

From Temporary Fixes to Lasting Change: Fixing CHIP Eligibility in Kansas

By Heather Braum, Kansas Action for Children The Kansas State Legislature’s 2026 session proved successful for one particular policy: updating state law to ensure more eligible Kansas kids can access health coverage through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). To understand why a small change will make a big impact on Kansas families – picture…

May 22, 2026

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Guest

Blog

Medicaid Managed Care: The Big Five in Q1 2026

The “Big Five” have reported their financial and enrollment results for the first calendar quarter of 2026. The “Big Five” are the five largest publicly-traded insurers, measured by enrollment, in the Medicaid managed care market. Four of them—United Health Group, Elevance, CVSHealth/Aetna, and Centene, in that order—were also the four largest commercial health insurers by…

May 21, 2026

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Nancy Kaneb

Blog

Protecting Maternal Heart Health and Lives: Key Takeaways from the New NASEM Report

As Say Ahhh! Health Policy Blog readers know, the US rates for maternal mortality and pregnancy-related mortality and severe morbidity are high, with Black and Indigenous women experiencing the highest rates. In 2024, the maternal mortality rate for Black mothers was 44.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, which was significantly higher than the rates for…

May 19, 2026

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Kay Johnson

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Blog

CMS Weaponizes Fraud Against Medicaid in California

For the second time in the 60-year history of the Medicaid program, a CMS deferral of federal matching funds has been announced by the Vice President of the United States at a White House press conference. The first time was on February 25, when Vice President J.D. Vance told the press that CMS was delaying…

May 15, 2026

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Blog

When Grief Becomes a Crime in Texas: Black Maternal Mental Health and Care Gaps We Cannot Ignore

By Tanesha Mondestin and Kay Matthews A Mother’s Pain, A System’s Failure In February 2026, Tamisha Cheyniece Drake of Lufkin, Texas, lost her newborn daughter at birth. Two months later, she returned to the cemetery where her baby had been buried, dug up the grave, and removed her daughter’s remains. She was arrested and charged…

May 14, 2026

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