Happy 60th Birthday Medicaid!
Created in 1965, Medicaid provides health coverage to low-income families and individuals, including children, parents, pregnant people, seniors, and people with disabilities. As of January 2025, over 70 million low-income people in the U.S. got their health coverage through Medicaid!
Over half of Medicaid spending goes to provide services to seniors and people with disabilities, most of it for long-term services and supports like home- and community-based services and nursing home care. Children make up over a third of program enrollees but account for just one-sixth of its spending.
According to CBO, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cut Medicaid by more than $900 billion, the largest cut in the program’s 60 year history.
| | Above: President Johnson signing the Medicare program into law on July 30, 1965. | | SCHOOLS & EARLY CHILDHOOD | | | | |
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Marketplace Data Matching
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced plans to resume regular checks between Medicaid/CHIP and the Marketplace. Marketplace enrollees who appear to have a duplicate enrollment. Those who appear to be enrolled in both programs will receive a notice and should respond immediately. If there is not response within 30 days, the advanced premium tax credit (APTC) will end, but individuals will remain enrolled in the plan and will be billed for the full amount of the premium.
If the person identified as having duplicate coverage is enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP, they should end their Marketplace coverage immediately.
If the person identified as having duplicate coverage is not enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP, they should contact the Indiana Family & Social Services Administration (FSSA) to confirm they are not enrolled and then update their Marketplace application by reporting a life change.
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Marketplace Training
Annually, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) takes the Marketplace training offline to prepare for the release of the training for the new plan year. The Marketplace Learning Management System (MLMS) will be taken offline at 6 pm EST on August 14, 2025. CMS expects the training to be back online in early fall.
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When Cutting Costs, Costs Health: What You Need to Know about Federal Policy Changes
In June and July, the U.S. Congress passed two large bills that formally upend decades of public health work in the U.S. and abroad. Congress changed eligibility criteria for Medicaid, SNAP, and codified funding cuts for global health, democracy programs, and public broadcasting.
Speakers:
- Dottie Rosenbaum, Director of Federal SNAP, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Allie Gardner, MPP, Senior Policy Analyst, Health Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Nicole Rapfogel, MPH, Senior Policy Analyst, Market Place and Private Insurance, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Liz Scott, Director, Federal Clean Air Advocacy, American Lung Association
- Don Hoppert, Director of Government Relations, American Public Health Association
This webinar will take place on August 4, 2025 at 3:00pm ET.
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Doula Care in Rural Communities
There is a maternal health access crisis in rural communities across the country, with the acceleration in recent years of the consolidation of hospitals and closures of rural hospitals and/or maternity wings of rural hospitals. In the midst of this crisis, a growing number of states are implementing or considering Medicaid coverage of doula care. Might doulas be able to help provide the education, advocacy, and support to address some of the gaps in care in rural communities that rely on Medicaid? What type of financing and policies would be needed to enable such a doula workforce to be successful?
Join the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) for a webinar on August 25, 2025 at 1pm ET. Thisis the second in a series of webinars from the NHeLP's Doula Medicaid Project to lift up its Best Practices for Medicaid Coverage of Doula Care.
| | TOBACCO PREVENTION & CESSATION | | |
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Impact Teens’ Ability to Quit Vaping
A new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health (led by Truth Initiative Chief Health Officer Dr. Amanda Graham) analyzed 1,248 U.S. adolescents aged 13–17 enrolled in a clinical vaping cessation trial and found that more than 90% had experienced at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE), with 56% classified as “high risk” (4+ ACEs). Those high‑risk teens were 20% less likely to quit vaping after seven months compared to peers with fewer ACEs, and each additional traumatic experience corresponded to a 7% drop in abstinence.
Teens with higher ACE scores also reported greater nicotine dependence, psychological distress, loneliness, and lower confidence and motivation to quit. The most common traumas included emotional neglect (68%), emotional abuse (63%), and having a caregiver with mental health issues (60%). The researchers highlight the need for trauma‑informed approaches in teen vaping cessation programs to address both addiction and underlying trauma.
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Connect with CKF
Tobacco Prevention & Cessation program on social media!
| | WOMEN'S HEALTH INITIATIVE | | |
Maternal Mortality in the US
The United States has long had the worst maternal mortality rate of any wealthy nation — a rate that soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking in 2021.
A new Commonwealth Fund report analyzes the latest national data on maternal mortality and offers a broad look at the causes and characteristics of preventable maternal deaths, including sharp differences linked to race and geography.
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IHCP Enrollment
Total Membership decreased in June.
With 1,856,272 members, there were 49,381, or 2.59%, less members in June 2025 than in May 2025.
In the last three months, IHCP membership dropped by over 114,000!
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