The Budget Reconciliation Act of 2025 has provided this blog with a seemingly ceaseless font of bad news stories. Here’s another one.
Currently someone applying for Medicaid can get retroactive coverage for up to three months prior to the date of application as long as they meet all the eligibility standards for those three months. This has proven to be a relief to those who, for example, may have been suddenly taken ill and left unable to apply at the time of the illness but who later were in a position to deal with the application process and paperwork.
In January 2027 that’s going to change. Starting next year, retroactive eligibility will only extend back two months for most Medicaid programs, but for Medicaid through the ACA, retroactivity will only count for a month prior to the application.
Another case of heartless cost cutting from a government that by the estimates of the Pentagon’s own acting comptroller had, as of 2 days ago, spend $25 billion on the war in Iran (Iran war has cost $25 billion to date, defense official says, as Hegseth faces questions about war strategy – CBS News)