MEDICAID / MEDICARE / VACCINES (++++ + +++)

MEDICAID Modern Healthcare: Democratic Governors Urge HHS To Delay Medicaid Work Requirements https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-regulation/mh-democratic-governors-hhs-medicaid-work-requirements/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8rAin5isEqJm0o6U2Cn0FzZeD-XjkGNyojY--VnZWJ9rFDg8EtpZ9m7iAgex3gGeD7r-uYHZhqXcuG4cslPRQQ0SF5Jw&_hsmi=442748877&utm_content=442748877&utm_source=hs_email Five Democratic governors want more time from the federal government to implement Medicaid work requirements correctly. In a Thursday letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the governors of California, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia, all Democrats, urged HHS to delay the start date for the work requirements, citing shifting policies that have thrown their preparations off course. (Early, 10/5) The CT Mirror: Gov. Touts Response To Medicaid Cuts, Stops Short Of Pledging Funds https://ctmirror.org/2026/10/05/lamont-ct-response-to-medicaid-cuts/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9HMq6SZTZOcV_zkDhzzt7A5e4Rwet68IJjlOTdCEInuF5bI8NzyMicps-r9kaeQwQTqNvs_mjAuaialunsSrLPv9Nvpg&_hsmi=442748877&utm_content=442748877&utm_source=hs_email Gov. Ned Lamont and other state officials gathered in Stamford on Monday afternoon to spotlight Connecticut’s efforts to protect residents’ Medicaid coverage in the face of pending federal changes to the program taking effect on Jan. 1. (Golvala, 10/5) AP: Black 'Welfare Queen' Trope Persists Despite Data To The Contrary https://apnews.com/article/welfare-queen-medicaid-arkansas-huckabee-sanders-c458e5fb258ecc36aa635e13890473a0?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-98sz0AQZy9Zaw7eZWJ3CsMDlXp5JarcToe5Kh5-AH563KK9mUwCgDyYukdvbNMH3NMAA_Y8szdZwJU_-mOKPYvBiqZ5A&_hsmi=442748877&utm_content=442748877&utm_source=hs_email A new video from Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was standard issue Republican messaging for promoting her state’s stricter rules for people on Medicaid. No more could able-bodied people lounge around while receiving taxpayer-funded healthcare, she said — they needed to work. But the decision to portray an unemployed moocher as a young, white, cheeseball-chomping gamer named Brad upset some conservative commentators last week. (Turbay and Tang, 10/6) Modern Healthcare: CMS Medicaid Rules Expand Cuts Beyond Trump's Tax Law https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-regulation/mh-cms-medicaid-cuts-trump-tax-law/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--bv1haEmHRcwO6uU9uVKdKV0-yYyqjieEu21Hd_7LpPmtxz9lgpBZRZU1RGlwAfxkrNH4WyontIrrO9CJyxL74WwfnzA&_hsmi=442748877&utm_content=442748877&utm_source=hs_email President Donald Trump enacted the largest Medicaid cuts in history last year. Since then, his administration has stretched those cuts even further than scorekeepers expected. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ state-directed payments regulation, its provider tax proposal, its rule codifying Medicaid work requirements and a guidance document revising certain Medicaid budget policies would result in deeper impacts than what the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected last year, according to CMS’ own calculations. (Early, 10/5) MEDICARE Stat: Judges Seem To Favor Humana In Medicare Advantage Lawsuit Federal appeals court judges didn’t take kindly to the Trump administration’s arguments Monday in a hearing on Humana’s lawsuit against the government over its rules for auditing Medicare Advantage plans. (Bannow, 10/5) https://www.statnews.com/2026/10/05/humana-medicare-advantage-radv-audits-lawsuit-hearing/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Nsk3NdIHyGMOFnLL2fHodLzhl19pb-wuGHxfGGSsh9WouSjFgCAUSy8QLP7k3MKG2p3ylDwx3spzEoWVdZJxxxufLQA&_hsmi=442748877&utm_content=442748877&utm_source=hs_email VACCINES The New York Times: Texas Pediatricians Face Paxton Investigations For Vaccinating Children https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/health/ken-paxton-pediatricians-vaccines.html?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8FBsacnk_9Bhc9FkU_S7GRRpymIfe-4Kt0OvB_eBPTDkGz1QwlV1x9svhcbyAo3hJ-Kpcso1V4Rcs1FPkt4dDXITPvaA&_hsmi=442748877&utm_content=442748877&utm_source=hs_email It was a bustling Monday morning at a little pediatrician’s office in central Texas. Children with rashes, fevers and runny noses cycled through exam rooms decorated with butterflies, planets and colorful maps. The doctor, who had been treating kids in the community for 20 years, was delighted when a woman she had cared for as a child came in with her newborn. Until recently, she had planned to continue her practice for years to come. (Jewett, 10/5) Bloomberg: RFK Jr. Announces Vaccine Injury Clinic, Initiative At NIH https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-05/rfk-jr-to-announce-new-vaccine-injury-research-at-nih?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_KUeoMPGw2NUci76_MJdR6H5oG3IceftwFM6vSNFgP7XpkiZ2enS9T3oZh1j-lEaKu8eDnOJ1Yb4L67YJaUww_r1dLWQ&_hsmi=442748877&utm_content=442748877&utm_source=hs_email Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a new research initiative at the National Institutes of Health to study vaccine injuries on Monday, according to people familiar with the matter. Kennedy visited the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, to unveil the initiative, said the people, who weren’t authorized to discuss the event publicly. (Cohrs Zhang and Raman, 10/5) WUSF: USF Researchers Pursue Vaccine Against Malaria Parasite https://www.wusf.org/health-news-florida/2026-10-06/usf-researchers-pursue-vaccine-recurring-malaria-parasite?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_ozhGDd6vcegsL0iyQE3uFhR945spnbXEypjIVEAVt-8lFrytl4-1hbWWyNNIagZ1OHT6OWiotXgJj83FbM9xXfzLm9g&_hsmi=442748877&utm_content=442748877&utm_source=hs_email University of South Florida researchers are developing a new malaria vaccine that would prevent the return of the disease once a person has already been infected. Unlike viral mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue, malaria is caused by parasites in the genus Plasmodium, which are transmitted by infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. (Liguori, 10/6)