All states rely on federal matching funds to finance their state Medicaid and CHIP programs. A new analysis from the Center for American Progress explores the potential reach of these cuts by congressional district. Table 1 shows potential federal funding losses by district if the $880 billion in cuts were to be proportional to current Medicaid and CHIP enrollment using 2023 American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau. On average, each congressional district would lose $2 billion in federal funding over nine years.
The Supreme Court on Monday scheduled arguments for April 21 in a case that could decide the legality of the ACA's requirement that insurers cover certain preventive services. In a surprising move, the Trump administration said it will continue the Biden White House's defense of that requirement. But some legal experts said the arguments being presented by the Justice Department indicate a desire to give HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. substantial control over an independent government task force.
Beyond public relations concerns, the company is facing potential shareholder lawsuits and multiple government investigations, including a DOJ antitrust probe focused on how it uses its physician workforce to benefit its insurance business. While it largely remains in a defensive crouch, UnitedHealth has begun pushing back, enlisting libel attorneys to go after critics on social media, attempting to squelch dissent from shareholders, and publicly blaming hospitals and drug companies for high prices. It is also moving to align itself with the new Trump administration.
Rising health costs are squeezing states' budgets to the point where some are considering raising premiums for hundreds of thousands of teachers and public employees for the first time in more than a decade.
House Republicans are expected to vote on a spending blueprint today that would kickstart the legislative process for enacting President Donald Trump's policy agenda—but nearly $1 trillion in potential cuts to Medicaid has made some Republicans uneasy, threatening to derail its passage.
The DOJ is investigating UnitedHealth's Medicare billing practices, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, while the health insurer said it was unaware of any new probe underway. UnitedHealth Group opens new tab shares were down 7.3%, weighing on the broader Dow Jones Industrial Average which was down more than 1%. Shares of rival insurers were caught up in the sell-off, with Humana down 5.5% and CVS Health. The civil fraud investigation, which was launched in recent months, is examining the company's practices for recording diagnoses that trigger extra payments to its Medicare Advantage plans, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. WSJ has run a series of stories over the last several months detailing how UnitedHealth profited from using Medicare billing rules to its favor. UnitedHealth said the report contained misinformation about its Medicare Advantage plans, without providing details.