Top Republican lawmakers in Virginia unveiled a new budget proposal Monday that will expand Medicaid, give state workers raises and boost the state's rainy-day fund. Sen. Emmett Hanger and Del. Chris Jones said they'd hammered out a compromise spending plan they hope will have the support of a majority in both chambers of the General Assembly. The plan will face its first big hurdle Tuesday when the Senate reconvenes. Republican Senate leaders oppose Medicaid expansion and could try to block the proposed spending plan.  Associated Press 

 

A spokeswoman for Scott (Gov., VT) said he signed the bill Wednesday morning. The measure had overwhelming support in the Democratic-controlled legislature and is one of the most aggressive attempts by a state to tackle rising drug prices that critics say are crippling state finances. Its enactment also puts the Trump administration in a bind after the rollout of a highly anticipated plan for tackling rising drug costs. HHS still has to certify Vermont's program. Politico 

 

Wilkie, confirmed by the Senate for a Pentagon post last year, has led the VA in an acting capacity since March. As a former adviser to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and longtime Republican hand, Wilkie's path to taking the VA's permanent helm will likely be smoother than the turbulent bid of Ronny Jackson, the president's former personal physician. Jackson withdrew from consideration to lead the VA last month amid scandal over his workplace behavior. Politico  

 

Health centers and programs that provide on-site abortions, or refer women for the procedure, could lose millions of dollars in federal family-planning funds under a new plan advanced by the Trump administration Friday. The proposal targets grants given out under a program known as Title X. The agency would require a separation-both financial and physical-between the grants and any facility or program where abortions are performed, supported or referred as a method of family planning. Wall Street Journal 

 

President Trump's plan to expand access to skimpy short-term health insurance policies, as an alternative to the Affordable Care Act, would affect more people and cost the government more money than the administration estimated, an independent federal study says. The study, by Medicare's chief actuary, suggests that the new policies would appeal mainly to healthy people, including many who have had comprehensive coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The administration estimated in February that a few hundred thousand people might sign up for the "short-term, limited-duration policies," which would not have to provide the standard health benefits like preventive services, maternity care or prescription drug coverage. New York Times 

 

 

IMMIGRATION AND "PUBLIC CHARGE"

 

California is poised to become the first state in the nation to offer full health coverage to undocumented adults even as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown by separating families at the border. The proposal - which would build on Gov. Jerry Brown's 2015 decision to extend health coverage to all children, regardless of immigration status - is one of the most daring examples yet of blue-state Democrats thumbing their nose at President Donald Trump as they pursue diametrically opposed policies, whether on immigration, climate change, legalized marijuana or health care. Politico  

    

President Donald Trump on said his administration is working on a plan to withhold aid money from countries that he believes don't do enough to prevent their citizens from illegally entering the US.

"We're going to work out something where every time somebody comes in from a certain country, we're going to deduct a rather large amount of money from what we give them in aid - if we give them aid at all, which we may not give them aid at all," he said. The president assailed US laws that allowed asylum-seekers and unaccompanied minors to stay in the US pending their immigration court dates - some of whom are MS-13 members, Trump said. At one point, Trump even accused foreign nations of encouraging their nationals to illegally enter the US.

Business Insider

On May 9th, NACHC and several West Coast community partner agencies sponsored a webinar on the newly proposed "public charge" standards. The proposed standards this will directly affect many immigrants upon US entry and/or upon attempting to acquire permanent residency ("green card"). But be advised that there are some immigrant categories exempt from this standard. The policies now define "public charge" as any alien that has received cash or non-cash government assistance. Many mixed-status families are already choosing to disenroll from public assistance programs like Medicaid and/or CHIP. But the new standards look back 2 years! The potential financial harm extends to health centers that provide healthcare services to consumers regardless of their immigration status. You will be receiving a request shortly from FACHC for non-identifiable stories that illustrate the negative impact of this policy.   FACHC Immigration Stories