Medicaid Cuts Could Force More Kids to Become Caregivers

When I was just 13-years-old, my mother suffered a traumatic brain injury at work, and I was forced to become her caregiver. No one came to help us; there was no support system in place, and it all fell on me. Over the next several years, I helped her to function with daily tasks like standing, walking, dressing, eating, managing doctor's appointments, and even paying the bills. I was the parent, she was the child. I’m not alone. According to AARP, there are over5.4 millionchildren in the U.S., especially girls, currently caring for chronically ill and disabled family members.

Last month, the GOP announced new proposed healthcare cuts as part of a$200 billion dollar budget billto fund military operations andexpensesfor thewar in Iran. This could put additional strain on younger family members to become caregivers before they turn 18.

This news comes as millions are already bracing for planned reductions, expected to take effect this October, from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBA) that President Donald Trump signed into law last July. An estimated11.8 millionAmericans who require Medicaid are expected to lose critical coverage—including up to4.3 millionpeople who rely on Medicaid Home Care Based Services (HCBS), likein-home nursingcare. For children and adolescents who are pushed into caregiving at a young age, this threat of loss of critical medical support is likely to be catastrophic.

The impact of the OBBA and the new potential bill goes beyond people losing access to health care. These two legislations could push more young people to take on caregiving roles and worsen the existing crisis of caregiving youth in the U.S. It could also deepen the present mental health problem impactingmillionsof young people in America.

I know the significant toll of caregiving at a young age firsthand—plus, this mental health crisis is well-documented by research. According to astudyfrom theSocial Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Journal, this vulnerable population of young people has higher rates of depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, and suicide in comparison with their peers.

I experienced these effects too. For years, while caring for my mother, I struggled with debilitating panic attacks, abused alcohol and drugs and engaged in codependent relationships. It wasn’t until I reached my late twenties that I took myself to therapy, that I saw the severe impact the role of caregiving had on my mental, physical health, and well-being into adulthood.

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I’m not the only one. Another young caregiver I spoke with, Rimbatara Neomardhika (Neo), age 16, has been caring for his father over the last four years since he suffered a stroke. He shared his feelings with me, "Sometimes I get anxious and worry about what the future is going to be like,” he tells me. “I find myself losing focus and losing sleep because I'm worried about what's going to happen to him. It's hard to take care of someone as a child." This relentless burden isn’t talked about enough.

We talk a lot about the caregiving crisis in adult populations that affects63 million caregivers. A recentPew Research Centerreport showed that 1 in 10 Americans provides care to aging parents age 65 or older, but we don’t talk enough about the kids doing this work. Caregiving youth are often unseen. This unpaid essential work that young people do before and after school daily leaves a significant imprint on the lives of the caregiver, and the weight of that emotional load is carried into adulthood.

Although I was fortunate to be able to rebuild my life years after being a caregiver for my mother and had the means to afford treatment like cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure response prevention, it wasn’t easy. It caused me to take on additional mental healthcare costs and pay thousands to see specialists to work toward healing.

TheRepublicanproposal to further slash Medicaid would only create more adults like me, faced with childhood caregiving trauma that takes time, sometimes decades, to overcome.

Fortunately, there are solutions to support these young caregivers amid additional healthcare cuts. Although there are some non-profit organizations, such as theAmerican Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY), that provide limited support in select states like Florida, there's still much more work to be done. Change begins by prioritizing the safety and well-being of children who are caregiving for family members by recognizing and identifying this largely invisible population in the first place. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can get them the mental health support and respite care they deserve. The type of help that I wish I’d had, that could have prevented years of struggle for me.

ProfessorSaul Becker, aresearcherbased in the United Kingdom, who has studied young carers for three decades, has helped to create laws to protect children in the UK who are caregivers, tells me that the U.S. needs to have an "ideological and cultural belief that children are important.”

The Trump Administration claims toprioritizechildren, but they need to act now to protect even the most unseen kids—the caregiving youth in the U.S.—before theirmental healthproblems grow beyond repair. By doing this, it could prevent current and future young caregivers from a lifetime of struggle and save lives.

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April 14, 2026

Medicaid Cuts Could Force More Kids to Become Caregivers

When I was just 13-years-old, my mother suffered a traumatic brain injury at work, and I was forced to become her caregiver. No one cam...

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Trump Tries to Explain Away Posting an AI Image Likening Himself to Jesus

President Donald Trump has a habit of using AI-generated content to spice up hissocial media. But his latest post—a picture that appeared to depict him as Jesus, bathed in ethereal light and laying hands on a sick man—drew such an outcry that Trump took it down.

It’s not the first time Trump has courted controversy with AI imagery. In the past, Trump posted an AI-generated picture of himselfdressed as the Pope,a video where the Obamas are depicted as apes, anda clip where he wore a crownapparently mocking“No Kings” protestsagainst his rule.

The latest image offended even some of Trump’s traditional support base—which includes evangelical Christians and conservatives—although he tried to explain it away when questioned by reporters: he said he thought the picture depicted him not as one of Christianity’s revered leaders, but as a physician.

“I thought it was me as a doctor,” Trump told reporters Monday, suggesting that the photo had references to the humanitarian organization Red Cross. Jesus? “Only the fake news could come up with that one,” Trump added.

The backlash from religious commentators and Christian supporters over the image comes as Trump has beenfeuding with Pope Leo XIVover the Iran war. In the now-deleted image, the sky is a pastiche of patriotic images: the U.S. flag, soldiers, and eagles. As for Trump, his hands are glowing, and one is placed on a bedridden man’s forehead. Around him, several people—including a nurse, a soldier, and a woman with her hands folded together in prayer—watch him in awe.

The image has been shared before, albeit slightly altered, by recently-appointed Special Presidential Envoy for American Tourism, Exceptionalism, and Values, Nick Adams. In his since-removed X post, Adams said, “America has been sick for a long time. President Trump is healing this nation.”

Riley Gaines, a Trump ally who has largely supported the President pushing out transgender women from sports,questionedthe motive behind Trump’s latest post. “Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this?”

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“Either way, two things are true,” Gaines added. “1) a little humility would serve him well  2) God shall not be mocked.”

“I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” conservative Christian writer and commentator Megan Bashamposted on X. “But he needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God.”

“This is gross blasphemy,”wrotepolitical activist Brilyn Hollyhand. “Faith is not a prop. You don’t need to portray yourself as a savior when your record should speak for itself.”

Conservative political commentator Cam Higbyposted on Xthat while he spends “8 hours a day” defending Trump, he “will not defend blasphemy.”

Christian militant organization Knights Templar Internationaldemandedthat the U.S. President remove the image immediately: “We are deeply offended by this and have no other choice but to condemn it wholeheartedly and ask for a public apology to the Christian brethren who have been deeply upset by this depiction.” The group latercalledTrump’s decision to delete the image the “right move.”

An apology has yet to come, but Trump rarely apologizes for his missteps. Speaking toCBS News on Monday, Trump doubled down that the image showed him as a “doctor in fixing—you had the Red Cross right there.” Asked why he took down the image, Trump denied that it was in response to the backlash, saying: “Normally I don’t like doing that, but I didn’t want to have anybody be confused. People were confused.”

Trump also told CBS News that he believes he has “done more for the Catholic Church than any President in the last hundred years.”

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April 14, 2026

Trump Tries to Explain Away Posting an AI Image Likening Himself to Jesus

President Donald Trump has a habit of using AI-generated content to spice up hissocial media. But his latest post—a picture that appear...

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Illinoisans to pay for other’s abortion services under proposed grant program

(The Center Square) – Some Illinois health insurance policyholders could begin automatically funding a grant program providing abortion services for underinsured and noninsured women.

After passing the Illinois House this week, the plan heads to the Senate.

House Bill 5408, backed by Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, would create the Abortion Access Fund under the Illinois Department of Public Health, receiving 90% of any leftover dollars insurers are already required by the Affordable Care Act to set aside to cover abortion services for policyholders.

Debating the bill on the House Floor, Moeller said similar legislation has already passed in California and Maryland. She asked fellow lawmakers to vote in favor of the bill, despite not accounting for insurance industry claims.

“We are aware that the Illinois health insurance industry came in kind of late with some concerns regarding the bill, so I do anticipate that there will be an amendment in the Senate,” Moeller said.

Answering questions from Republican lawmakers, she said the ACA has already required the minimum of $1 per enrollee each month be set aside by insurance plans that cover abortion for over a decade. She added that the state would be taking in unused funds that cannot be applied to other forms of care.

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Rep. Regan Deering, R-Decatur, asked if the fund would be connected to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Prairie State Access fund, which he created alongside philanthropic partners in response to what hesaidwas “the anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ campaign being waged by extremists.”

Moeller said that the fund would not be connected to Pritzker’s program.

Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, said the state is moving in the wrong direction when it comes to abortion services by continuing to provide public funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood.

“Now we see that insurance companies have been putting money into a fund that we're going to access for grant access to give to folks such as Planned Parenthood, to continue abortion access here in the state of Illinois, and it is my sincere hope that federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services deem this an excessive use of funds,” Niemerg said.

In a fiscal note alongside the bill, the Illinois Department of Public Health said there would be no fiscal impact to the state in implementing the bill.

The bill passed 69-36.

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April 14, 2026

Illinoisans to pay for other’s abortion services under proposed grant program

(The Center Square) – Some Illinois health insurance policyholders could begin automatically funding a grant program providing abortion...

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Illinois bill would mandate infant allergy coverage, with unclear cost impact

(The Center Square) – An Illinois proposal to require insurance coverage for infant allergy prevention is raising questions about potential costs, even as supporters argue it could reduce long-term health spending.

State Sen. Darby Hills is backing Illinois Senate Bill 4182, which would require most insurance plans to cover a six-month supply of egg and peanut allergen supplements for infants when prescribed by a health care provider.

Hills said the measure is designed to eliminate upfront costs for families and encourage early intervention, which some studies suggest can lower the risk of developing lifelong food allergies.

“Families should not have to choose between prevention and cost,” Hills said.

But the proposal comes without a clear estimate of how much the new mandate would cost insurers, or how those costs might ultimately affect premiums for consumers.

Hills framed the bill as a potential long-term cost saver, arguing that preventing allergies early could reduce the need for expensive treatments later in life, such as ongoing specialist care, allergy shots and emergency interventions.

“It seems like a short period of time to address something that could otherwise require years of treatment,” she said.

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The overall fiscal impact of the proposal remains unclear, but insurers would likely pay the market price for the supplements, estimated at roughly $200 to $400 depending on the brand.

Insurance groups typically negotiate discounted rates with manufacturers, and total costs would ultimately depend on those negotiated prices multiplied by the number of eligible infants covered under each plan.

The legislation would apply to most individual and group plans in Illinois, including those covering government employees. Some high-deductible plans may be exempt or face limitations due to federal rules, but the bill is intended to reach majority of policyholders.

Hills said the proposal was prompted by a constituent whose child suffers from severe food allergies, highlighting both the medical and financial strain such conditions can create over time.

“This bill came to me from a constituent whose child suffers from food allergies, and she wanted to help other families going forward,” said Hills. “She felt that, although it was too late for her own child, she could help prevent this for other children.”

Food allergies affect roughly one in 10 children in the United States, and research cited by the bill’s supporters suggests early exposure to allergens like peanuts and eggs can reduce the likelihood of developing those allergies.

Even so, the legislation’s current focus is narrow — limited to egg and peanut supplements — and Hills indicated it could be expanded later.

“We’d need to do more research on early exposure to other allergens, but it’s something worth exploring.”

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April 13, 2026

Illinois bill would mandate infant allergy coverage, with unclear cost impact

(The Center Square) – An Illinois proposal to require insurance coverage for infant allergy prevention is raising questions about poten...

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After setting Masters 36-hole record, only one person can stop Rory McIlroy

AUGUSTA, GA — Only one man can stopRory McIlroyat thisMasters. Surely you must see that by now.

The only real threat to McIlroy is a guy who owns a green jacket and talks with a Northern Irish accent.

Only McIlroy can stop McIlroy.

“I know what can happen out here – good and bad,” McIlroy said in a televised interview after heextended his Masters lead with a sizzling finish to Round 2.

So far, so very good for McIlroy.

So, this isn’t over, but the defending champion leads by six strokes at 12-under, the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history.

Masters hot takes, predictions:Here's what we saw in Round 2

During the second round at Augusta National, the focus turns to holding position as contenders try to separate themselves heading into the weekend.

These images follow Rory McIlroy as he plays Friday with the lead, navigating the early holes while managing the pressure that comes with being out front at the Masters.

Above, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his third shot on the second hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks up the second hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits out of a fairway bunker on the second hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the sixth tee during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland acknowledges the crowd on the first hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland stands on the fourth hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland waves on the eighth green during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland looks on while playing the first hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland prepares to putt on the sixth green during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland looks on while playing the first hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland looks on while walking the second hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts after making a birdie on the second hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland puts a club back in his bag during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland looks on from the third green during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a shot from a bunker on the eighth hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland prepares to putt on the second green during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland putts on the third green during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks the tenth fairway during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Rory McIlroy holds the lead after Round 2 at Masters. See photos

During thesecond round at Augusta National, the focus turns to holding position as contenders try to separate themselves heading into the weekend.

These images follow Rory McIlroy as he plays Friday with the lead, navigating the early holes while managing the pressure that comes with being out front at the Masters.

Above, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his third shot on the second hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

LEADERBOARD:Scores after Friay's second round

Good though he’s playing, the pressure heightens on the weekend, and that can melt even the best golfers. His history out here is long enough that there’s been some epic collapses mixed in.

He knows it. You know it. The woman who drove the golf cart to transport me from the press building to the course on Fridayknows it.

“He gets in his own way out here,” she cautioned before McIlroy teed off for his second round.

That was true once, twice, but no longer.

McIlroy’s Augusta demons from yesteryear showed up on Sundays, but if he cards another round on moving day like this one, it’ll be over by Sunday.

McIlroy’s putter is winning this thing for him. He had 27 puts in Round 1. Pretty good.

He needed only 24 putts in the encore, helped by his chip-in on No. 17. Even better.

Rory McIlroy, the 'wily old veteran' is mastering the Masters

Get a load of this: McIlroy is lapping the field despite not hitting a fairway with a drive on a single par-5 through the first two days of the tournament.

What do you make of that, Rors?

“I’m becoming a wily old veteran,” McIlroy, 36, said.

Great quote, but I see it differently. He’s that perfect blend of experienced, but still in his prime. He’s played here enough to know “you don’t have to be perfect to make good scores,” as he put it. That’s the wily side.

But, he’s also still ripping it off the tee, averaging more than 334 yards with his drives — even if his bombs on the par-5s are landing somewhere other than the fairway.

MASTERS TEE TIMES:Saturday pairings, third round groups, TV schedule

Augusta National crowd loving Rory's pursuit to defend green jacket

The crowd’s loving this, by the way.

As McIlroy rolled one in on No. 18 for his sixth birdie in his final seven holes, fans leaned over the rope line and extended their palms, hoping Rory would slap them.

He did, of course. He’s feeling this place. He slapped one hand, two hands, three hands, more, more, more, as he exited stage to sign his scorecard.

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We can tell stories of when Augusta National became McIlroy’s house of horrors. That's old news.

Here in present day, this place has become Rory’s play pen.

Should his competitors be intimidated?

Oh, Rory won’t go there. That’s not his game.

“No. No. No. That’s not me. That’s not what I want to do,” McIlroy said.

Forget intimidation then. How about just building an insurmountable lead?

Toppmeyer:At Masters, LIV's so-called rivalry with PGA Tour looks like a joke | Opinion

McIlroy’s six-stroke lead became the new Masters record through two rounds.

McIlroy went birdie-birdie-birdie on Nos. 2 through 4 to get to 8-under, and he got a number in his mind.Get to 10-under on this second round.

He gave a couple of strokes back. Just a light touch of green ink. No disasters. McIlroy successfullyheeded Jack Nicklaus' adviceto him before the tournament of avoidingbleepingdouble-bogeys. Can do, Golden Bear. McIlroy's had none of those double-boxes on the scorecard through two days.

McIlroy gave a single stroke back on No. 5 and another on No. 10.

All good. Still in fine shape. Especially once he got close to the greens.

Seven-footer for birdie on No. 12: Good.

Another 7-footer on No. 13: You bet.

Ten-footer on No. 15: No sweat.

Three-footer on No. 16: That’s child’s play.

No. 17, forget the putter, because the wedge took care of that birdie.

Six feet and in for more red ink on No. 18: Folks, he’s not missing.

Then, it was off to slap some hands during a conqueror’s exit, with a six-stroke lead on Sam Burns and Patrick Reed secure.

Afterward, a reporter would ask McIlroy whether it would be more fun to win this tournament in a close battle, or just continue dominating the field.

“What do you think?” McIlroy mused.

I think McIlroy’s got everyone in this field whipped, so long as he doesn’t beat himself.

Blake Toppmeyeris a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him atBToppmeyer@gannett.comand follow him on X@btoppmeyer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Rory McIlroy sets Masters record for 36 holes. Can anyone beat him?

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April 13, 2026

After setting Masters 36-hole record, only one person can stop Rory McIlroy

AUGUSTA, GA — Only one man can stopRory McIlroyat thisMasters. Surely you must see that by now. The only real threat to McIlroy i...

Read More