Kaiser Family Foundation

On May 1, 2026, Nebraska became the first state to enforce new Medicaid work requirements. The 2025 reconciliation law requires states to condition Medicaid eligibility for adults in the ACA Medicaid expansion group and enrollees in certain waiver programs (such as in Georgia and Wisconsin) on meeting work requirements or exclusion criteria starting January 1, 2027; however, states have the option to implement requirements sooner (as is the case for Nebraska).

September 29, 2026 Audio Episode 17, AI Series: In another concerning example of AI agents going rogue recently, an OpenAI agent hacked into an Australian government website containing health care data. While some industry CEOs are calling for a slowdown and demands for regulation grow, host Chip Kahn focuses on the implications for health care when these same kinds of AI systems are already at work in hospitals — in billing, in scheduling, and increasingly in decisions about patients.

Federal law every state to operate a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) that investigates and prosecutes provider fraud and patient abuse and neglect. MFCUs are typically housed within the state Attorney General’s office and are required to operate independently from the state Medicaid agency that runs the Medicaid program.

On September 10, 2026, the Census Bureau published a proposed rule adding two new parts to the regulations that govern the decennial census of population and housing.

Paid family and medical leave and sick leave can help workers meet their personal and family health care needs, while also fulfilling work responsibilities. Access to paid leave is a particularly salient concern for women, who comprise nearly half of the nation’s workforce and often take on the bulk of caregiving responsibilities.

Population estimates are based on analysis of the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates, along with zip codes and zip code equivalents based on 2020 Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Codes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The American Community Survey uses Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), which are non-overlapping statistical geographic entities created by the U.S. Census Bureau. A PUMA-to-zip code crosswalk was obtained from the Missouri Census Data Center.

Population estimates are based on analysis of the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates, along with zip codes and zip code equivalents based on 2020 Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Codes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The American Community Survey uses Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), which are non-overlapping statistical geographic entities created by the U.S. Census Bureau. A PUMA-to-zip code crosswalk was obtained from the Missouri Census Data Center.

Population estimates are based on analysis of the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates, along with zip codes and zip code equivalents based on 2020 Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Codes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The American Community Survey uses Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), which are non-overlapping statistical geographic entities created by the U.S. Census Bureau. A PUMA-to-zip code crosswalk was obtained from the Missouri Census Data Center.

Population estimates are based on analysis of the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates, along with zip codes and zip code equivalents based on 2020 Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Codes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The American Community Survey uses Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), which are non-overlapping statistical geographic entities created by the U.S. Census Bureau. A PUMA-to-zip code crosswalk was obtained from the Missouri Census Data Center.

Population estimates are based on analysis of the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates, along with zip codes and zip code equivalents based on 2020 Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Codes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The American Community Survey uses Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), which are non-overlapping statistical geographic entities created by the U.S. Census Bureau. A PUMA-to-zip code crosswalk was obtained from the Missouri Census Data Center.