Medicaid cuts worry cancer survivors | Morning Newsletter
And crisis center layoffs.
The Morning Newsletter
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Hi, Philly. The moon is looking super this week, wouldn’t you say?
Cancer care and preventive screenings could be at risk when Medicaid cuts take effect in the coming years under a new federal law, worrying patients and those who advocate for healthcare access.
And Philadelphia’s only rape crisis center will lay off employees and is pausing services indefinitely amid the state budget impasse.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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After Valerie Brown was diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of 49, she endured surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation to keep the disease at bay. Still, the cancer returned. She has been taking a drug that slows its growth for the past six years, and lives an active life full of volunteering and visiting grandchildren.
Now 62, the South Jersey resident worries that losing her Medicaid coverage would be a death sentence: She cannot afford the medication, which costs about $18,000 a month, on her own.
Her fears come as the publicly funded health program for low-income families and people with disabilities faces massive cuts under President Donald Trump’s administration. The issue has become a centerpiece of this month’s federal government shutdown.
The pending Medicaid cuts could have particularly dangerous and costly implications for cancer care and preventive screenings, researchers and advocacy groups warn.
Health reporter Sarah Gantz has the story.
The Philadelphia Center Against Sexual Violence, which has provided free crisis services since 1971, is laying off employees this week because of Pennsylvania’s budget impasse.
Unless the state funding it relies on is reinstated, the organization must also pause its 24/7 crisis hotline, medical and court advocacy services, therapy offerings, and prevention and educational programs, leaders said Monday.
The organization has received 1,775 hotline calls in 2025 alone, according to data provided to The Inquirer. Those calls will now be rerouted to a national crisis line, disrupting the continuity and familiarity survivors had with the local services.
Politics reporter Fallon Roth has more on the sudden disruption.
What you should know today
The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of a North Philadelphia man who is wanted in three homicides.
Police are searching for two men who abducted brothers during a Saturday home invasion in Northeast Philly.
A Skippack Township supervisor has been charged with sexually abusing a boy who was in his care for several years, investigators said Monday.
Chester County-based U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a former Air Force engineer, is defending the role of women in combat after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s remarks about maintaining a “male standard.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro took on a new role at a Canadian conference to shore up the relationship with Pennsylvania’s largest export market as Trump increases tariffs.
Wharton advisory board chair Marc Rowan helped develop the ideas used in the compact the White House asked University of Pennsylvania and eight other schools to sign, according to the New York Times.
A trio of judges ruled that the federal law that restricts robocalling does not apply to state legislators conducting government business, siding with a top Pennsylvania Democrat.
Washington Township’s embattled school superintendent has been cleared of three misconduct allegations that prompted his suspension earlier this year.
Quote of the day
Racing motorcycles up steep hills is fast, dangerous, and a rural Pennsylvania pastime. Meet the uphill riders defying gravity, from York County to the Lehigh Valley and beyond.
🧠 Trivia time
A Kennett Square man got hired as a stand-in for actor Mark Ruffalo during the local filming of HBO’s Task. What is Michael Bertrando’s day job?
A) Clown
B) Music producer
C) Skydiving instructor
D) Sandwich maker
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and whom) we’re …
🧀 Applauding: This Philly cheesemonger who won gold in the Olympics of cheese in France.
🍺 Hearing from: Iron Hill Brewery employees laid off after its sudden bankruptcy.
🩺 Considering: How trust, or lack thereof, impacts both patients and doctors.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Sporty nickname 🕸️
AUNT DURAL
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Ben Helzner, who solved Monday’s anagram: Ambler. A local developer built a year-round community gathering place for the town with a destination food hall.
Photo of the day
Here’s to days spent in the sun. Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday.
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