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The push to address the soaring U.S. maternal morality rate is colliding with a broader, more ideological public health imperative: Republican-led efforts to scale back Medicaid. The safety net program pays for half of all births in the nation. Democrats and many public health experts see it as a natural vessel for slowing the death toll of pregnant women and new mothers, by extending care in the crucial year following childbirth. (Rayasam and Ehley, 6/14)

When Nancy Glynn struck up a conversation with her next-door neighbor about the new work requirements for people on the state’s expanded Medicaid program, she was surprised by the response. “She had no idea that this is even going into effect,” said Glynn. The new work or community engagement requirement kicked in as of June 1, requiring anyone covered by expanded Medicaid, known as Granite Advantage, to complete 100 hours of work or approved community activities each month to maintain medical coverage, unless they are exempt due to medical frailty or other circumstances listed in the law. (Solomon, 6/16)

State officials have advised 17,000 Medicaid patients that it dropped from its rolls recently to reapply. But they’re not making it easy. Callers told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution they reach recordings, not people. (Hart, 6/14)

A makeshift Oklahoma Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Tuesday about a proposed state question to expand Medicaid to cover more of Oklahoma’s uninsured. A petition filed in April to put the question on a state ballot has been stalled by a protest from a conservative think tank called the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. The court will hear from attorneys for the think tank, the group that filed the petition and the Oklahoma attorney general’s office. (Casteel, 6/16)