On April 1, 2023, a Covid-era Medicaid policy called continuous enrollment will end. The policy allowed recipients to retain their benefits, even if they were no longer eligible, throughout the federal public health emergency and prevented lapses in coverage. Now that that’s coming to an end, state Medicaid offices need to audit their enrollees. But that process isn’t so simple, and millions are expected to slip through the cracks. Vox senior correspondent Dylan Scott (@dylanlscott) explains. References: Millions of people are about to get kicked off Medicaid  Our Welfare Puritanism : De ..read more

This month, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case examining the Safe-T Act. The legislation would bring sweeping reform to the state’s criminal justice system, but one policy in particular has caught the eye and the ire of prosecutors: the elimination of cash bail. Proponents say ending cash bail bonds will get rid of inequities that favor the rich; opponents say it will lead to a rise in crime. What does the fight over cash bail in Illinois tell us about criminal justice in America? References: Season 4 of WBEZ’s Motive podcast Safe-T Act and cash bail goes before Illinoi ..read more

You’ve probably heard by now that President Joe Biden released his 2024 budget proposal. You’ve also probably heard that it has almost no chance of passing through both chambers of Congress. What is likely to come to pass is more drama over a recurring problem: the fight over the debt ceiling. If the US doesn’t raise the ceiling and defaults on its debt, financial catastrophe would ensue. What does that mean for the country’s fiscal future?  References: What’s in Biden’s new White House budget - Vox  Biden’s billionaire tax proposal, explained - Vox  House Republicans are takin ..read more

This month, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case examining the Safe-T Act. The legislation would bring sweeping reform to the state’s criminal justice system, but one policy in particular has caught the eye and the ire of prosecutors: the elimination of cash bail. Proponents say ending cash bail bonds will get rid of inequities that favor the rich; opponents say it will lead to a rise in crime. What does the fight over cash bail in Illinois tell us about criminal justice in America? References: Season 4 of WBEZ’s Motive podcast Safe-T Act and cash bail goes before Illinoi ..read more

You’ve probably heard by now that President Joe Biden released his 2024 budget proposal. You’ve also probably heard that it has almost no chance of passing through both chambers of Congress. What is likely to come to pass is more drama over a recurring problem: the fight over the debt ceiling. If the US doesn’t raise the ceiling and defaults on its debt, financial catastrophe would ensue. What does that mean for the country’s fiscal future?  References: What’s in Biden’s new White House budget - Vox  Biden’s billionaire tax proposal, explained - Vox  House Republicans are takin ..read more

You’ve probably heard by now that President Joe Biden released his 2024 budget proposal. You’ve also probably heard that it has almost no chance of passing through both chambers of Congress. What is likely to come to pass is more drama over a recurring problem: the fight over the debt ceiling. If the US doesn’t raise the ceiling and defaults on its debt, financial catastrophe would ensue. What does that mean for the country’s fiscal future?  References: What’s in Biden’s new White House budget - Vox  Biden’s billionaire tax proposal, explained - Vox  House Republicans are takin ..read more

Last month, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a new mental health policy that lowers the threshold for involuntary commitments for psychiatric care. While the Adams administration argues this shift is a solution for growing crime and homelessness numbers, critics argue it’s a step in the wrong direction. What’s the history behind involuntary holds, and what does it say about mental health policy in America? References: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline  SAMHSA  Introducing the "Designed to Fail" series | Mental Health America  America's Long-Suffering Mental Health System ..read more

With the 2022 midterm elections mostly over, members of Congress are back on the Hill to wrap up loose legislative ends. One of the bipartisan bills floating through the lame-duck session is the Electoral Count Reform Act, a bill that would add protections to the presidential transfer of power. So, what exactly does this legislation do to protect elections, and is it enough?  Hosts: Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill) Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer Cristian Ayala, engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts Want to support The Weeds? Please con ..read more

(Originally aired August 2022) Vox senior correspondent Dylan Matthews sits down with Felicia Wong (@FeliciaWongRI), president and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, to talk about a new era of industrial policy. They discuss the theory of modern supply-side economics, the passage of the Inflation Reduction and CHIPS acts, and how much common ground exists between the political left and the right. Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer A.M. Hall, editorial director  Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donat ..read more

Let’s be blunt: Weed policy is complicated. As with many elections in the past decade, recreational marijuana was on the ballot again during the 2022 midterm elections. After Colorado and Washington voted to legalize recreational use in 2012, more and more states have decided to ride the green wave. And recent moves by the Biden administration signal the federal government may finally come around to decriminalizing marijuana. But do these policies have any power?  References: Marijuana election results: Maryland and Missouri vote to legalize cannabis by ballot measure President Biden’s p ..read more