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January jobs report: Unemployment rate falls to 4%, wages rise more than forecast; Trump signs order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel; Ten Commandments in public schools debate reaches South Dakota; Virginia ranks among worst states for wage theft; Mexican long-nosed bat makes appearance in Arizona.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes a Trump tone at the Justice Department, federal workers get more time to consider buyouts, and an unclassified email request from the White House worries CIA vets.

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During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

Proposed Medicaid changes would hit KY and other rural states hard

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Monday, January 20, 2025   

Nearly one-third of Medicaid funding could be on the chopping block as lawmakers look for ways to reduce the national deficit.

A new report found the proposed changes, totaling around $2.5 trillion, are more likely to harm rural communities and small towns than metro areas. More than 1.2 million Kentucky residents rely on the program for health coverage.

Emily Beauregard, executive director of Kentucky Voices for Health, said federal Medicaid funding brings more than $14 billion into Kentucky every year.

"It's what keeps the doors of our rural hospitals open," Beauregard pointed out. "It's what covers half our births and seven in 10 elderly Kentuckians living in nursing homes."

Over the past decade, 120 rural hospitals across the country have either closed or stopped offering inpatient services. According to the report, Kentucky ranks among a handful of states with the highest percentage of working-age adults who rely on Medicaid for health coverage.

Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, said policymakers need to realize programs such as Medicaid are not government waste because they keep folks healthy enough to work and create better health outcomes for kids.

"In the long term, it's a much better investment of taxpayer dollars," Alker contended. "Because it'll pay dividends to make sure that these families are getting the care they need."

Beauregard added Medicaid cuts will hurt the state's economy as much as its workforce and residents' health.

"I would fully expect that if people lose Medicaid coverage, they will be uninsured," Beauregard predicted. "Or they'll be purchasing junk plans that really aren't going to cover them when they need it, and we will see people delaying care."

Medical debt could also rise in the Commonwealth. One National Institutes of Health study found ZIP codes with the lowest incomes in states that did not expand Medicaid had the nation's highest levels of medical debt.

Disclosure: The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, and Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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