The big news of the day, the Omnibus $1.7 Trillion budget has been signed into law! You may ask, how does this affect my health?

The new law would affect various categories of people and insurances as below:

1. Your Health insurance (Medicaid): At the peak of COVID-19, an emergency relief package allowed the enrollment of 90 million people in Medicaid that were not qualified pre-pandemic. Starting from April 2023 till December 2023, the emergency enrollment will phase out and you might lose your Medicaid coverage. You might need to check with your state Medicaid about you and your family's coverage.
2. Protections for New Mothers: This law will become a significant relief and protection for pregnant workers. This law prohibits employers from denying women opportunities or forcing them to take leave because of pregnancy or related clinical conditions. 
3. Breastfeeding: This law supports employers to provide additional bathroom breaks for nursing mothers to pump, reasonable accommodation and additional work tools for pregnant mothers.
4. Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP): CHIP will provide 12 months of children’s coverage, allowing 40 million children on Medicaid and CHIP to have uninterrupted access to healthcare throughout the year. In addition, the law allows states to permanently offer 12 months of postpartum coverage for low-income mothers through Medicaid, rather than just 60 days.
5. Mental and Public Health: The budget includes funding for various public health initiatives. It provides funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support efforts to prevent and control infectious diseases; the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support health researchers; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support mental health and substance abuse treatment; and National Council for Behavioral Health (NCBH) to support community mental health and addiction treatment programs.

Your Healthcare providers and insurer might inform you about the above changes. For patients who are not eligible for Medicaid benefits under this law, there may be other healthcare benefits that you may qualify for. Chat with us today and/or your insurer about your options.

References

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/20/politics/spending-bill-congress-omnibus/index.html

https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2022/12/this-week-at-fda-congress-passes-omnibus-spending