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EVERYTHING
Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Illegal Money Grab
What: President Donald Trump tried to end payments to Medicaid and nearly all other federal programs Tuesday, a move that would have disrupted vital services for millions of Americans. A federal judge stopped Trump’s White House from freezing the payments Tuesday night. Under the US constitution, the president does not determine how agencies spend money. That power is vested in Congress.
Key line: “For hours, states reported issues accessing funds under Medicaid, even though the White House later said it wasn’t supposed to be affected by the spending halt. Preschool centers struggled to obtain reimbursements from the federal program known as Head Start, putting some child-care services at financial risk. A web portal that housing providers use to draw down money for government-voucher and rental-assistance funds stopped working Tuesday.”
Source: Washington Post
Republicans Mostly Don’t Trust Federal Health Agencies
What: Republicans are far less likely to say they trust the federal government to “make the right recommendations on health,” according to a new KFF health tracking poll. While 73% of Democrats say they trust the Department of Health and Human Services, only 42% of Republicans agree. There are “similar gaps” for the CDC, FDA, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Key line: “Apart from individual doctors, who garner trust from a large majority of Democrats, independents, and Republicans, there are stark partisan differences in trust in government agencies and individuals on health issues.”
Source: KFF
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Tennessee Medicaid Deaths Three Times Private Insurers
What: Tennessee Lookout digs into a report from the state’s maternal mortality review committee, which found that pregnant women on TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, were three times more likely to die during of after pregnancy than those with private insurance from 2020 to 2022.
Key line: “Local advocates criticized a lack of action by lawmakers in supporting policies shown to improve maternal outcomes, among them state funding for TennCare doula services to aid pregnant patients – a measure repeatedly rejected by lawmakers in the state’s supermajority GOP. ‘It’s been a five-year uphill battle,’ said Briana Perry, interim director of the nonprofit Healthy and Free Tennessee. ‘While we know that doulas aren’t the only solution, we know doulas are supportive players that have a critical role in intervening.’”
Source: Tennessee Lookout
Preventing Preeclampsia Paramount for Reducing Adverse Health Outcomes
What: A JAMA Network Open study found that serious complications after pregnancy, such as heart, kidney, and liver disease, happened most frequently for patients with preeclampsia, regardless of whether they had high blood pressure before getting pregnant. In contrast, patients with high blood pressure who did *not* develop preeclampsia had “nearly the same” risk as patients who did not have high blood pressure and also never developed preeclampsia.
Key line: “’This study focused on women with chronic hypertension who did not have pre-existing diseases and found that those who did not develop preeclampsia had a much lower risk of adverse events — and that this risk was nearly the same as what we saw in women without chronic hypertension or hypertensive disorders of pregnancy,’ said [lead author Erica] Gunderson. ‘The importance of preventing hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, especially among women with chronic hypertension, is paramount to reduction of serious adverse health outcomes related to pregnancy.’”
Source: Kaiser Permanente
ABORTION ACCESS
The Texas Kids Who Had to Leave for an Abortion
What: The Houston Chronicle reports that at least 100 Texas children under age 17 left the state to get an abortion, according to state data. That included at least six girls who were aged 11 or younger.
Key line: “[Lucie Arvallo, executive director of Jane’s Due Process,] said the most common themes she hears from clients are that they wish they could be treated in their home communities and that they are afraid. ‘Am I going to get in trouble? Is my parent going to get in trouble for helping me get this? Who is a safe person to talk to about this?’ they ask her.”
Source: Houston Chronicle
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