During 2025, all eyes were on changes in the Medicaid program and the many coming changes as a result of new Department of Health and Human Services policies and the last congressional budget bill. Not surprisingly, the majority of the most-read news coverage by our OPEN MINDS team were on topics related to Medicaid.

One of the big coming changes in the Medicaid program are work requirements passed by Congress—requirements that will be effective on January 1, 2027. A recent presentation to the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Considerations For Implementing Community Engagement Requirements: Findings From Stakeholder Interviews, provides both an overview the new requirements and summary of stakeholder concerns about their implementation.

Under the new…