The Trump administration has ordered states to investigate certain individuals enrolled in Medicaid to determine whether they are ineligible because of their immigration status, with five states reporting they’ve together received more than 170,000 names — an “unprecedented” step by the federal government that ensnares the state-federal health program in the president’s immigration crackdown.

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In late October, Maine Family Planning announced three rural clinics in northern Maine would close by month’s end. These primary care and reproductive health clinics served about 800 patients, many uninsured or on Medicaid.

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Democrats and Republicans are both facing potential political consequences in their continuing standoff over federal government funding.

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Medical educators and health professionals warn that new federal student loan caps in President Donald Trump’s tax cut law could make it more expensive for many people to become doctors and could exacerbate physician shortages nationwide.

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This summer, the state of Louisiana texted just over 13,000 people enrolled in its Medicaid program with a link to a website where they could confirm their incomes.

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Companies running private Medicare and Medicaid insurance plans inaccurately list many mental health professionals as being available to treat the plans’ members, a new federal watchdog report says.

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WASHINGTON — Nationwide, states are racing to win their share of a new $50 billion rural health fund. But helping rural hospitals, as originally envisioned, is quickly becoming a quaint idea.

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COLUMBUS, Miss. — April Hines has battled with her weight since she was a teenager. But in the past couple of years, she’s fallen from 600 pounds to 385, and her blood pressure and blood sugar levels are down, too. “I’m not as fatigued as I used to be, and I’ve been able to go back to church,” she said.

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A few months ago, Waynesville Police Sgt. Paige Shell was about to give up hope of getting better. The daily drip of violence, death, and misery from almost 20 years in law enforcement had left a mark. Her sleep was poor, depression was a stubborn companion, and thoughts of suicide had taken root.

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Megan Waiters can recite the stories of dozens of people she has helped connect to the internet in western Alabama. A 7-year-old who couldn’t do classwork online without a tablet, and the 91-year-old she taught to check health care portals on a smartphone.

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