Trump uses 1996 welfare reform bill to go after immigrants who use public benefits

President Trump is getting serious about going after immigrants who use public benefits.

In a presidential memorandum issued Thursday, Trump announced he will direct federal agencies to enforce a longstanding rule requiring the sponsors — usually U.S. citizen family members — of immigrants to reimburse the government for any public benefits they use, including Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, and the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

“Financial sponsors who...

Transgender Iowans are worried they’ll lose transition-related care under new bill

Iowa is one signature away from enacting a law that would limit transgender people’s access to necessary health care.

The law would allow government entities to opt out of using public insurance dollars, including Medicaid, to pay for any kind of transition-related care. This language was tacked on as an amendment to a health and human services appropriations bill late in the process, LGBTQ rights advocates said, without any committee hearings or public comment process. Lawmak...

Trump claims the GOP is the ‘party of health care,’ but his health care plans are losing in court

After vowing to strike down Obamacare and implement a replacement that will enshrine the GOP as the “party of health care,” President Donald Trump is off to a rocky start this week. In quick succession, he was dealt two major health care blows in the courts.

On Thursday, a federal judge blocked so-called “association health plans” (AHPs) — an avenue that Trump has long touted as a method of providing “tremendous health care at very small cost.”

U...

Arkansas asks Trump administration to appeal judge’s decision to block Medicaid work rules

Arkansas officials remain fully committed to the state’s Medicaid work requirements despite being dealt a heavy blow from a federal judge who blocked the first-ever policy. Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said during a press conference Thursday that he asked the Trump administration to appeal the federal judge’s decision.

“I believe there should be consequences if people do not exercise responsibility,” he told reporters.

On Wednesday, a federal judge blocked ...

Judge blocks work requirements for Medicaid in Arkansas and Kentucky

Judge strikes blow to Trump administration, citing unresolved obstacles to getting healthcare in the states

A federal judge has ruled that Medicaid work requirements undermine the program’s mission of providing healthcare for the needy, dealing a blow to the Trump administration.

The US district judge James E Boasberg in Washington DC blocked work requirements for low-income people in two states, Arkansas and Kentucky, on Wednesday. He found that the states’ requirements pose numerous obstacles to getting healthcare that have gone unresolved by federal and state officials.

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