By MELISSA GOLDIN, Associated Press

President Donald Trump and other high-ranking Republicans claim Democrats forced the government shutdown fight because they want to give free health care to immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

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Democrats are trying to extend tax credits that make health insurance premiums more affordable on marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, and reverse Medicaid cuts in Trump’s big bill passed this summer. But immigrants who entered the country illegally are not eligible for either program.

Here’s a closer look at the facts:

CLAIM: Democrats shut down the government because they want to give free health care to immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally.

THE FACTS: This is false. Democrats say they are pushing for the inclusion of key health care provisions in the next congressional spending package. In particular, they are seeking an extension of tax credits that millions of Americans use to buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchange and a reversal of Medicaid cuts made in the bill Trump signed into law in July. However, immigrants in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for any federal health care programs, including insurance provided through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. Hospitals do receive Medicaid reimbursements — which would be reduced under Trump’s bill — for emergency care that they are obligated to provide to people who meet other Medicaid eligibility requirements but do not have an eligible immigration status, according to KFF, a nonprofit health policy research, polling and news organization. This spending accounted for less than 1% of total Medicaid spending between fiscal years 2017 and 2023.

Sabrina Corlette, founder and co-director of Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms, called the Republicans’ claims “a flat-out lie.”

“The law is very clear,” Corlette said.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday about a deal with Pfizer to lower drug prices, Trump predicted the shutdown and made the false claim: ”We’ll probably have a shutdown because one of the things they want to do is they want to give incredible Medicare, Cadillac, the Cadillac Medicare, to illegal immigrants.” He added later that “they want to have illegal aliens come into our country and get massive health care at the cost to everybody else.”

Asked by a reporter to clarify what his comments referred to, Trump said “when an illegal person comes, a person who came into our country illegally, therefore breaking the law,” adding that “we just as a country cannot afford to take care of millions of people who have broken the law coming in.”

Other Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson, have made similar claims.

The Senate’s Democratic leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer, rebutted these allegations, calling them “a lie, plain and simple.”

Immigrants in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for insurance bought on the Affordable Care Act exchange or for Medicaid. To qualify for the latter, an enrollee must live in the U.S., be a U.S. citizen or have another lawful status and not be incarcerated. A Medicaid enrollee must meet certain financial requirements, be a resident of the state in which Medicaid is being received and be a U.S. citizen or have a qualifying lawful status.

Health care premiums for millions of Americans could skyrocket if Congress fails to extend tax credits that many people use to buy insurance through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Those subsidies were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic but are set to expire.

Among the Medicaid cuts Democrats are seeking to reverse is a reduction to reimbursements hospitals receive when they perform emergency care they are legally mandated to provide on people who would qualify for Medicaid if not for their immigration status. This would affect the 40 states, plus Washington, D.C., that have adopted a Medicaid expansion created by the Affordable Care Act.

The law Trump signed would also restrict the eligibility of lawfully present immigrants such as refugees and asylees for insurance through the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and Medicare.

Some states use their own money, not federal funds, to provide health care to immigrants who don’t have lawful status. An earlier version of Trump’s tax breaks and spending cuts bill tried to curb these programs, but the provisions did not make it into the final version.

“It’s a compelling talking point to say that Democrats want to provide health care to undocumented immigrants, but it’s just not true in terms of the cuts they’re trying to reverse,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF.

Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

“In the face of shrinking resources and rising need, community care might be the most powerful intervention we have.”

An early evening games of dominoes in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the Bronx. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

In a city where therapists are overbooked, shelters are full, and crisis calls often end in handcuffs, “mental health awareness” rings hollow without action. This October for Mental Health Awareness Week, we need to rethink what care really looks like—and who has access to it. For many New Yorkers, especially in Black and brown communities, healing doesn’t begin with a diagnosis. It begins with community.

While city leaders continue to invest in clinical care and crisis response, the reality is that many people never make it that far. They’re uninsured, underpaid, or emotionally overwhelmed, but not “sick enough” to qualify for help. The woman who lives alone, without a child or spouse, battling depression while working a 9-to-5 and living paycheck to paycheck. The family who inherited a home but is one emergency away from losing it—quietly coping with anxiety but unable to take time off. Don’t they deserve care, too?

Just because your circumstances don’t fit the system’s definition of urgent doesn’t mean you don’t need support. And it shouldn’t mean you have to go without it. They don’t need a waitlist. They need support that’s close, culturally grounded, and consistent.

We’ve always known how to care for each other. We just stopped passing it down to the next generation. Learning how to reconnect the social media generation with in-person care is more urgent than ever. The activists of the past created systems off the grid—out of necessity, for survival. Fred Hampton once said, “Everything would be alright if everything was put back in the hands of the people, and we’re going to have to put it back in the hands of the people.”

What if we looked at mental health through that lens? What if we built living lists of therapists, coaches, and wellness practitioners who could support people regardless of their insurance? Mental health coaches like myself stand in the gap, offering care, accountability, and company on the road to restoration.

Mindfulness and meditation practitioners teach people how to breathe through the chaos—how valuable is that to a mom raising kids in the projects, a dad working two jobs, or a teenager being bullied at school? These are things the clinic can’t always offer. But the community can.

What if we funded healing circles and community walks on Saturday mornings for peace of mind, connection, and health? In the face of shrinking resources and rising need, community care might be the most powerful intervention we have.

This Mental Health Awareness Week (Oct. 5-11) we don’t need another campaign that doesn’t speak to us. We need care that actually reaches the unseen. The real work starts in how we show up for each other in how we listen, create space, and refuse to let people fall through the cracks. We need to support those already building healing spaces in church basements, living rooms, barbershops, and school gyms.

And we need to show up for people like Sonya Massey—a Black woman shot and killed by police in her own home after calling 911 for help. She struggled with paranoid schizophrenia. Maybe if someone from her block had checked in, if someone had sat beside her on the steps—she might still be here today. Her story unfolded in Illinois, but the warning it carries reaches every city, including our own.

Because care doesn’t always come with a clipboard. Sometimes, it shows up as a notebook, a deep breath, or a steady presence. If we’re serious about healing this city, we have to put care back in the hands of the people.

Kayla Thompson is a certified mental health coach, emotional wellness facilitator, and founder of Broken Hearts Restored, a nonprofit dedicated to making healing safe, accessible, and culturally grounded in the Black community. She leads community-based healing pop-ups, group coaching, and restorative letter-writing projects in NYC.

The post Opinion: Mental Health Awareness Should Start On Our Blocks appeared first on City Limits.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s time to get a flu vaccine, and pediatricians are urging people to get them after last winter, when the U.S. saw the most flu-related child deaths in 15 years.

October is the ideal month to get protected, experts say, because flu cases typically begin climbing in November.

“The best time is today. If you haven’t already had it, get it. I got mine yesterday,” said Dr. Laura Riley, of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Don’t like shots? This year marks the first time that some people can try vaccinating themselves at home using the nasal spray vaccine FluMist.

Here’s what to know.

Who needs a yearly flu vaccination?

Just about everyone age 6 months and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and major medical societies. Despite lots of recent misinformation and confusion about vaccines, the flu recommendations haven’t changed.

Flu is particularly dangerous for people 65 and older, pregnant women, young children, and people of any age who have chronic health problems including asthma, diabetes, heart disease and weak immune systems.

About 71% of seniors roll up their sleeves every year, but less than 50% of other adults do. Last year, just under half of children got a flu vaccine, down from over 60% a few years ago.

Flu vaccines can keep you out of the hospital

Flu vaccines may not block all infections, but they do a really good job of preventing severe illness and hospitalization, said Dr. Sean O’Leary, of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Tens of thousands of Americans die from the flu every winter. But during last year’s harsh season, the CDC counted 280 children who died of flu-related complications. Nearly half had no prior health problems and about 90% hadn’t been fully vaccinated.

Another concern from last season: The CDC counted more than 100 children who developed a rare flu complication — brain inflammation that can lead to seizures, hallucinations, or even death. Very few were vaccinated.

Flu vaccination during pregnancy is two-for-one protection

It’s important for mothers-to-be to understand that a bad case of flu can put them in the hospital or cause their baby to be born prematurely, Riley said.

Flu shot protection also carries over to newborns, and infants too young for their own vaccinations are especially vulnerable to flu.

Riley stressed that years of flu vaccinations show that recommendation is safe for mother and baby.

Which flu vaccine to choose?

High-dose shots and those with a special immune booster are designed for people 65 and older, but if they can’t find one easily they can choose a regular all-ages flu shot.

For the shot-averse, the nasal spray FluMist is available for ages 2 to 49.

What’s that new at-home vaccination?

FluMist has been available for more than 20 years, but the at-home option is newly available for certain adults on the vaccine’s website. If they’re deemed eligible according to their age and a medical questionnaire, they’ll be shipped FluMist timed to arrive on a particular day, with instructions on how to administer it to themselves or their children.

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The Food and Drug Administration approved the home administration option last year, too late to roll out for that season. It’s currently only available in 34 states, according to manufacturer AstraZeneca, which hopes to expand access.

What do flu vaccines cost?

They’re supposed to be free under Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance plans if people use an in-network provider. Local health departments also can provide free or low-cost flu vaccinations for people who qualify.

As for the at-home FluMist option, the same insurance rules are supposed to apply, but there will be an out-of-pocket delivery fee.

Can you get a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time?

Yes, said Dr. Philip Huang, director of Dallas Health and Human Services. They’re safe to give together and “that’s a good way to get them taken care of,” he said.

However, there still may be difficulty in finding COVID-19 shots — especially through a government-funded child vaccination program — given confusion after a federal advisory board quit recommending them but said people could decide for themselves.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By PATRICK WHITTLE and GEOFF MULVIHILL

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A network of medical clinics that serves low-income residents in Maine said Wednesday it is shutting down its primary care operations because of Trump administration cuts to abortion providers.

President Donald Trump’s policy and tax bill, known as the “ big beautiful bill,” blocked Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. The parameters in the bill also stopped funding from reaching Maine Family Planning, a much smaller provider that also delivers other medical services in the mostly rural state.

Maine Family Planning has informed its nearly 1,000 primary care patients that it will no longer be providing primary care service starting Oct. 31, the network said. The loss of Medicaid funding took about $2 million in reimbursements from the network, and it is no longer able to sustain primary care, it said.

The network “will continue seeing patients who need family planning care, regardless of insurance status, for as long as we are able,” Maine Family Planning said in a statement. The group also provides birth control, sexually transmitted disease testing, cancer screenings and routine OBGYN visits, it said.

“We were caught in this net because we provide abortion care as part of a full range of sexual and reproductive health care at 18 sites. We are proud to provide that care,” said George Hill, president and chief executive officer of Maine Family Planning.

Of the 17,535 visits made to Maine Family Planning’s 18 health center and mobile medical unit in 2024, 13% were for primary care services, Hill said.

Maine Family Planning has fought the halting of Medicaid dollars in federal court. But it suffered a setback in August when a federal judge ruled against restoring funding during the network’s ongoing lawsuit against the Trump administration. The network appealed to a higher court but has yet to receive a response. Hill said the legal fight will continue.

Maine Family Planning is one of three health organizations across the country that the federal government says is barred from receiving Medicaid reimbursements until the end of September 2026 under a provision in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law. It targets groups that provide abortion and receive more than $800,000 a year in Medicaid reimbursements. Medicaid already did not cover abortion.

Like Maine Family Planning, Planned Parenthood has sued in an effort to restore reimbursements.

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Planned Parenthood has said that up to 200 of its clinics might have to close because of the policy change. Some of its nearly 600 clinics have already shut down. In the past week, its Wisconsin affiliate announced that it would stop providing abortion, and the Arizona one took the opposite approach, saying it would halt Medicaid-funded services.

Julia Kehoe, president and CEO of Health Imperatives, which serves about 10,000 patients a year in southeastern Massachusetts, said her organization didn’t realize it was losing Medicaid reimbursements until the government said it was in an August legal filing.

She said the she believed the seven clinics in her group were safe from the cuts because they are not primarily a reproductive health organization. The cuts could mean a loss of about $1.8 million a year.

Instead of changing service offerings, Health Imperatives is working on getting additional state funding and donations to make up the difference – and more – with the aim of increasing access to health care.

Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.