Jan 10, 2020 - Health

With Kansas deal, Medicaid expansion marches on

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Kansas will likely become the 37th state — 38th if you count D.C. — to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Driving the news: The state's Democratic governor and Republican Senate leader announced a deal yesterday to expand the program, though it still needs to get through the state legislature.

Why it matters: The states still holding out against expansion are the super holdouts, so each one is a pretty tough sell at this point. But we're seeing a wave of even them starting to get on board, and Kansas is a big part of that trend.

  • Missouri and Oklahoma will have expansion initiatives on the ballot in 2020, and it remains a close fight in North Carolina.

Details: Kansas' expansion deal does not include work requirements — something of a surprise in such a conservative state, though work requirements aren't faring well in court. 

  • It does include a $25-per-month premium, which advocates won't love, but probably can live with. And there's no lockout for people who don't pay. 

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Axios
Updated 10 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 12,772,755 — Total deaths: 566,036 — Total recoveries — 7,030,749 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 3,269,531 — Total deaths: 134,898 — Total recoveries: 995,576 — Total tested: 39,553,395 — Map.
  3. Politics: Trump wears face mask in public for first time.
  4. States: Florida smashes single-day record for new coronavirus cases with over 15,000.
  5. Public health: Trump's coronavirus testing czar says lockdowns in hotspots "should be on the table" — We're losing the war on the coronavirus.
  6. Education: Betsy DeVos says schools that don't reopen shouldn't get federal funds — Pelosi accuses Trump of "messing with the health of our children."
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Fadel Allassan
40 mins ago - Health

Florida smashes single-day record for new coronavirus cases

Data: Covid Tracking Project; Chart: Axios Visuals

Florida reported 15,299 confirmed coronavirus cases on Sunday — a new single-day record for any state, according to its health department.

The big picture: The figure shatters both Florida's previous record of 11,458 new cases and the single-state record of 11,694 set by California last week, according to AP. It also surpasses New York's daily peak of 11,571 new cases in April, and comes just a day after Disney World reopened in Orlando.

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Rashaan Ayesh
45 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Pelosi: Trump is "messing with the health of our children" with push to open schools

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' aggressive push to fully reopen schools this fall is "malfeasance and dereliction of duty," accusing the Trump administration of "messing with the health of our children."

Why it matters: Trump has demanded that schools reopen as part of his efforts to juice the economy by allowing parents to return to work, despite caution from health officials that little is known about how the virus impacts children.

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