More than 6 million U.S. children already without health care
First Focus on Children has joined other advocates in sounding the alarm about new Medicaid requirements that could put millions of eligible people — including children — at risk of losing the health care they need.
The final rule, which went into effect on Friday, implements the Medicaid work reporting requirements passed by Congress as part of H.R. 1.
“Work reporting requirements may not directly apply to children,” First Focus on Children President Bruce Lesley said, “but their impact ripples through families. Research shows that when parents lose health care, so do their children. Pregnant and postpartum women, parents of young children, and others who should remain eligible may also lose coverage because of confusion about eligibility categories or procedural errors. The number of children without health insurance rose to 6.1% of all U.S. children in 2024, according to census data, or roughly 4.7 million kids, and another 2 million have lost insurance since the Trump Administration took office. Instead of creating new barriers to children’s health care, lawmakers should be looking for ways to offer child-centered thinking that ensures every one of the nation’s children has access to high-quality, affordable health care.”
First Focus on Children joined the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), Community Catalyst, Families USA, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in opposing the Medicaid Community Engagement Requirement for Certain Individuals Interim Final Rule with Comment Period (CMS-2454-IFC), which implements the Medicaid work requirements passed by Congress as part of H.R. 1 and establishes additional requirements for beneficiaries to gain or maintain Medicaid coverage. The rule went into effect July 31.
“For decades, our organizations have worked to protect and strengthen Medicaid because it is a lifeline that connects millions of people to comprehensive, high-quality, affordable health care,” the statement said. “As we mark the 61st anniversary of the Medicaid program, we should be celebrating the program’s extraordinary progress in improving the health of people across the nation, strengthening communities, and expanding access to care. Instead, the implementation of Medicaid work requirements marks a significant step backward, creating unnecessary and harmful barriers that put access to coverage at risk.
“The overwhelming majority of adults who receive Medicaid already work, are looking for work, are attending school, are providing unpaid caregiving, or qualify for an exemption. These new requirements do not address a lack of willingness to work. Instead, they create new paperwork and reporting obligations that will cause many eligible people to lose the health coverage they rely on.”