Oct 19 Allies for Children Creates Fact Sheets on Medicaid Changes
(October 19, 2026)
Allies for Children advocates for access to affordable and public insurance for children and families. As part of our Medicaid Toolkit, we recently released our Medicaid Changes Fact Sheets focused on the Medicaid changes in HR 1, a law passed in 2025 with specific Medicaid provisions that will impact the healthcare system over the next several years. These new policies are complex, and our fact sheets give providers and families a better understanding of what to expect as these changes are implemented over the next several months.
A key population impacted in these changes is many low income Medicaid recipients ages 19-64. Our fact sheets detail the changes, including work requirements for some of this population and renewing coverage every six months instead of once per year. This will begin for some in January 2027. The fact sheets also cover the immigrant Medicaid changes, which began earlier this month.
Children are not impacted by the upcoming changes, but their parents may be. Research shows that when parents are insured, children are more likely to be insured. So loss of caregiver coverage means eligible kids will lose health coverage too. Pregnant and postpartum women should also not be impacted by the work requirements or immigrant changes, but we have to make sure they know the changes don’t apply to them, so they don’t slip through the cracks. We are also encouraging all current Medicaid recipients to update their information with PA DHS to ensure they receive any mail or COMPASS messages related to the changes. Current Medicaid recipients who are impacted by these changes should have received a letter from the PA Department of Human Services (PA DHS). If you or someone you know hasn’t received this letter and probably should have, be sure to check the information in COMPASS.
To help support advocacy efforts, Allies for Children is collecting stories about experiences with Medicaid. Sharing your story is one of the most valuable, effective, and important forms of advocacy – it helps to persuade decision makers and move people to action. Ongoing changes to Medicaid means we need to make sure our elected officials and other decision-makers know the positive impacts that Medicaid has had, as well as the impact of the changes. Sharing a story about how Medicaid has helped you or someone you know ensures we have powerful stories to draw from and share in our work. With your permission, we will share your experiences with others, such as the media and elected officials. Here is the link to tell your story: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3J8CN2L
Please reach out if you would like Allies for Children to present about the changes or discuss in more detail.
Cristina Codario, Allies for Children Policy Director