Latest news with #SantaClarita
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
One More Worry For College Students: Medicaid Work Requirements
Millions of undergraduate and graduate students are on Medicaid. getty 'The uncertainty is really scary,' says Garth Bittner, a 28-year-old studying aerospace engineering at College of the Canyons, a community college in Santa Clarita, California. So scary, that he actually read through parts of the 800-plus-page tax and budget bill President Trump signed into law on July 4th. Surprisingly, Bittner wasn't looking for answers about the new law's $307 billion in cuts to the student loan program over the next decade, which (among other things), will make repaying loans on income-based payment plans more burdensome. Instead, he was focused on the law's $911 billion in Medicaid cuts, specifically a new 'work requirement' slated to take effect at the start of 2027 and projected to save $326 billion over the next decade, largely by kicking people off the program. Millions of undergraduate and graduate students now rely on Medicaid for health coverage. Students who attend school more than half time, should, in theory, meet the new work requirement. But yet-to-be issued rules and procedures, along with paperwork problems and administrative snafus, could put many of them at risk. The new work requirement is contained in what Republicans have dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and applies to the more than 20 million adults who receive coverage as part of the Medicaid expansion that was part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (popularly known as Obamacare). The Supreme Court ruled the expansion was voluntary for the states, which administer Medicaid. Nevertheless, 40 states and the District of Columbia have adopted Medicaid expansion, which allows adults with income up to 138% of the poverty line ($21,597 for a single individual in 2025) to qualify for Medicaid. According to a recent report from Congress' Government Accountability Office, between 2010 and 2022, the share of undergraduate and graduate students who were uninsured shrank from 19% to 9%. Some of those coverage gains came from a provision in ACA that allows young adults without their own health coverage to stay on their parents' employer-provided health insurance until they are 26. But even more came from Medicaid expansion. In 2022, the GAO found, 13% of all college students, up from 7% in 2010, were covered by Medicaid. Equally telling, according to the GAO, 12% of college students in states that didn't expand Medicaid lacked coverage in 2022, twice as high as the percentage who went uninsured in the expansion states. (Some colleges offer their own health plan and require all students to be insured, while others don't.) Under the newly-passed work regime, technically called 'community engagement compliance,' Americans aged 19 through 64 will have to prove at least twice a year that they're working, volunteering or in a work training program for at least 80 hours a month, or enrolled in an educational program at least half-time. Those who are caring for a child below 14 or have a medical condition that makes work impossible can qualify for an exception. Republicans tout the new requirement as a way to get able-bodied people to join the workforce and ultimately become self-sufficient. But Democrats and many health policy experts warn that millions of otherwise eligible recipients (including those who are working or going to school) will lose coverage because of bureaucratic gotchas. 'The bottom line of what everyone expects is there's going to be massive paperwork and massive confusion,' says Leighton Ku, the director of the Center for Health Policy Research at George Washington University. The OBBA provides that students who can prove they're enrolled in a higher education program at least half-time will meet the community engagement requirement. But it doesn't define what constitutes half-time enrollment. In fact, that's just one of many issues specific to college students that will need to be clarified by either federal regulations, or in federal guidance to the states (which they then would interpret), before the work requirement takes effect at the start of 2027. Besides the short time frame, experts see another problem: States may not have (or be ready to spend) the money needed to set up efficient verification systems that don't cut eligible people off. The new law provides just $200 million in federal funds to help states build the infrastructure for tracking Medicaid work requirements in fiscal year 2026. But they'll likely need to spend a lot more to develop adequate systems. For example, Georgia, which implemented a Medicaid work requirement in July 2023, has spent nearly $100 million setting up the program, including an estimated $55 million to develop a digital system for verifying eligibility. Andrea Ducas, the Center for American Progress' vice president of health policy, ticks off a series of still unanswered questions that will affect college students on Medicaid. 'What constitutes half-time enrollment? Does that enrollment also extend to times that you're not in the school, like if you're on a summer break, or if you're a student that isn't continuously enrolled in a program, but goes during different semesters.' It's still unclear, she notes, what will happen to students who are enrolled in an educational program when they apply or submit paperwork to requalify for Medicaid, but weren't enrolled the month before. That's because the legislation states that when eligibility is redetermined every six months (or more frequently if states choose), states are required to 'look back' for at least one month to determine if the applicant met the work requirement or qualified for an exemption in the previous month. Just as they can choose to redetermine eligibility more than twice a year, states can choose to look back for multiple consecutive months. Those lookbacks could hurt college students whose schedules change over the course of the year, worries Carolyn Fast, The Century Foundation's director of higher education policy. 'You could see a situation where a student who wasn't enrolled [in school] over the summer or wasn't enrolled for one semester is going to have trouble either getting enrolled [in Medicaid] or staying enrolled,' she says. Bittner takes a full course load at College of the Canyons. But he shares the experts' concerns about getting caught by the frequent recertifications and look backs. 'Do you have to time it so that you're enrolling (in Medicaid) when you're in school and potentially going summer without health insurance? Nobody knows,' he says. 'You're going to have to submit more paperwork to show that you go to school more often and if anything goes wrong, and things always go wrong with these programs, you could lose it and then it takes forever to get somebody to correct it.' As a resident of California, Bittner might have less to worry about than students in some other states. GW's Ku says a lot could depend on how states chose to implement the verification process, including the frequency of checks, number of months they look back and types of data used. 'They could say 'Gee, for July and August you weren't in school half-time, so therefore you didn't meet the requirement,' he observes. But a state could also opt to check only twice a year with a one-month look back or accept a student's two-semester course schedule as adequate, despite the summer break. Adrianna McIntyre, an assistant professor of health policy and politics at Harvard University, offers additional unknowns: What types of educational programs will count towards the requirement? And how difficult will it be for those who work part time and attend school part time to meet the 80 hour requirement? The legislation permits people to combine qualifying activities to reach the requirement, but she fears some students who are enrolled in one or two classes and work part-time could struggle to compile the necessary paperwork to prove their eligibility every six months. 'These requirements create more homework for students. The government is giving them homework on top of their schoolwork,'' McIntryre observes. 'A lot of people just aren't going to successfully navigate that.' Allie Gardner, a senior policy analyst on the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' health policy team, points to another requirement that could trip up students on Medicaid. In addition to proving they meet the work/school requirement at least twice a year, Medicaid expansion recipients will also need to prove at least twice a year (up from once a year) that their income still qualifies them for Medicaid with separate documents. So even if states set up systems that automatically verify education status, they may not automatically verify students' income. 'Basically everyone, including college students, may be hit with this double paperwork burden of having to prove compliance with the work requirement while also completing a full redetermination of eligibility,' Gardner says. (This more frequent income recertification is expected to save another $63 billion, on top of the savings from the work requirement.) Some states already have online portals for Medicaid enrollment, but Gardner says some folks seeking coverage report difficulties using these websites and opt for mail. That presents yet another gotcha for college students: They could miss notices if they use their home address while at school, but also risk losing coverage from their home state if their school address is out of state. 'Let's say because they want to make sure they get their mail for their renewal to meet the paperwork burden, [a student] submits their college address in another state. That could trigger the state thinking that someone is now enrolled in a Medicaid program out of state and they could lose Medicaid coverage,' Gardner says. That means, she adds, that it will be crucial for states and universities to communicate state-specific policies, but they can't even formulate these policies until they get federal guidance. That 'makes the timeline to implement work requirements in the next year and a half very difficult,' she adds. The correlation between heightened paperwork and qualified people never getting –or losing– Medicaid coverage is strong, as demonstrated in Georgia, the only state that currently has a work requirement through its Pathways to Coverage program (which it adopted instead of a standard ACA expansion for poor, able-bodied adults). As of May, only about 7,500 of the nearly 250,000 theoretically eligible people in Georgia were enrolled, with critics largely attributing low enrollment numbers to heightened paperwork. 'I think that the overall story of Georgia is proof of how somebody could leave home, go to college, not be able to afford the student insurance, and not be able to get Medicaid coverage they are otherwise eligible for because of all of the paperwork burdens,' Gardner says. Leah Chan, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute's director of health justice, says students in Georgia have a comparatively easier time than others when it comes to the new systems. That's because if they submit an official course enrollment schedule at the start of a semester, it exempts them from reporting hours monthly. Plus, as students, they likely have an easier time navigating an online system than older or less educated folks. But students aren't immune from problems. In June, the Georgia group spotlighted the case of a graduate student and former social worker who lost coverage after having problems with the website and then struggling to get help through to the state call center. 'There's glitchy technology, there's overburdened caseworkers who aren't able to answer your questions,' Chan says. 'So people are still falling through the cracks because of the added paperwork and the bureaucratic red tape.' Chan says states will need to establish not only tech systems for tracking eligibility, but also high quality phone-based and in-person support for Medicaid users and outreach programs to make sure people know what forms they need to submit. 'People call them startup costs, but really what we're seeing is that making modifications to the eligibility enrollment system is an ongoing cost, and so that is something that I think states are going to need to be mindful of,' Chan says.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Habit Burger & Grill Celebrates Newest Restaurant in Santa Clarita, California
New Drive-Thru Habit Restaurant to Open Doors on July 30; Hold Pre-Opening VIP Events on July 26, 28-29 Habit Burger & Grill Celebrates Newest Restaurant in Santa Clarita, California IRVINE, Calif., July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Habit Burger & Grill, the California-based restaurant company renowned for its award-winning Charburgers grilled over an open flame, signature sandwiches, fresh salads, and more, announces today the launch of their latest restaurant opening in California with the Santa Clarita opening. The new restaurant's address is 16424 Village Way, Santa Clarita, CA 91387. Their famous 'Habit Hospitality' will be served to the public starting Wednesday, July 30, 2025. In honor of their grand opening, Habit Burger & Grill will host exclusive pre-opening VIP events for their CharClub and mobile app members. Guests can receive an invite to this exclusive sneak peek by signing up at VIP Event Details: Free Charburger Day (Saturday, July 26): The first 200 guests at 11:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. will receive a free freshly-made Charburger, fries and drink. Must be a CharClub member and present VIP invitation. Free Habit Day (Monday, July 28): The first 200 guests at 11:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. will receive a free chargrilled meal from one of our pre-set menus. Must be a CharClub member and present VIP invitation. Free Habit Day (Tuesday, July 29): The first 200 guests at 11:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. will receive a free chargrilled meal from one of our pre-set menus. Must be a CharClub member and present VIP invitation. "We have been waiting a while to open our Santa Clarita location, and we couldn't be more pumped to finally throw out the welcome mat,' said Chef Jason Triail, Executive Chef at The Habit. 'We know Santa Clarita is filled with a ton of things to do – amusement parks, festivals, summer concerts, and sports to name a few. This is a vibrant energetic city and Habit Burger & Grill can't wait to serve up our award-winning charburgers, sandwiches stacked high, and those amazing sides, like our Tempura Green Beans.' The latest Santa Clarita restaurant will offer dine-in, takeout; and delivery will be available via the Habit Mobile App and online at Guests also have additional convenient ordering options including state-of-the-art indoor self-serve kiosks and delivery through Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates and Uber Eats. Habit Burger & Grill was named in Thrillist's list of 'Underrated Burger Chains that Need to be in Every State!' With its cooked-to-order mantra, Habit Burger & Grill's open flame sears a distinctive smoky flavor into their famous Charburgers, fresh marinated chicken, and sushi-grade ahi tuna. Guests at Habit Burger & Grill can always count on freshly-made, handcrafted quality served up with genuine hospitality. This Habit Burger & Grill restaurant will be open Mon-Sun 10:30 a.m. -10:00 p.m. Connect with Habit Burger & Grill on social media at: FB: IG: TikTok: LinkedIn: About The Habit Restaurants, Inc. Born in sunny Southern California in 1969, Habit Burger & Grill is known for Charburgers cooked-to-order over an open flame. But the menu extends far beyond burgers—it's a celebration of Californian-inspired flavors. Alongside the brand's signature Charburgers is a meaningful array of handcrafted sandwiches, crisp salads, and creamy shakes, ensuring there's something for everyone. Habit Burger & Grill has earned notable recognition, with its Double Char ranked #1 by USA Today 10Best*, its Tempura Green Beans named the #1 side by USA Today 10Best, and its Chicken Club recognized as the best grilled chicken sandwich by The Daily Meal. The brand was also featured in Newsweek's America's Favorite Restaurant Chains 2023 and included in Thrillist's roundup of Underrated Burger Chains that Need to be in Every State! Habit Burger & Grill has since grown to over 385 restaurants across 14 states and internationally—continuing to serve up bold fresh flavors, made-to-order. Learn more at Sources: USA Today 10Best, USA Today 10Best, The Daily Meal, Newsweek, The Daily Meal, Thrillist Habit Burger & Grill Press Contact: HBGMedia@ A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
Associated Press
7 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Habit Burger & Grill Celebrates Newest Restaurant in Santa Clarita, California
IRVINE, Calif., July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Habit Burger & Grill, the California-based restaurant company renowned for its award-winning Charburgers grilled over an open flame, signature sandwiches, fresh salads, and more, announces today the launch of their latest restaurant opening in California with the Santa Clarita opening. The new restaurant's address is 16424 Village Way, Santa Clarita, CA 91387. Their famous 'Habit Hospitality' will be served to the public starting Wednesday, July 30, 2025. In honor of their grand opening, Habit Burger & Grill will host exclusive pre-opening VIP events for their CharClub and mobile app members. Guests can receive an invite to this exclusive sneak peek by signing up at VIP Event Details: 'We have been waiting a while to open our Santa Clarita location, and we couldn't be more pumped to finally throw out the welcome mat,' said Chef Jason Triail, Executive Chef at The Habit. 'We know Santa Clarita is filled with a ton of things to do – amusement parks, festivals, summer concerts, and sports to name a few. This is a vibrant energetic city and Habit Burger & Grill can't wait to serve up our award-winning charburgers, sandwiches stacked high, and those amazing sides, like our Tempura Green Beans.' The latest Santa Clarita restaurant will offer dine-in, takeout; and delivery will be available via the Habit Mobile App and online at Guests also have additional convenient ordering options including state-of-the-art indoor self-serve kiosks and delivery through Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates and Uber Eats. Habit Burger & Grill was named in Thrillist's list of 'Underrated Burger Chains that Need to be in Every State!' With its cooked-to-order mantra, Habit Burger & Grill's open flame sears a distinctive smoky flavor into their famous Charburgers, fresh marinated chicken, and sushi-grade ahi tuna. Guests at Habit Burger & Grill can always count on freshly-made, handcrafted quality served up with genuine hospitality. This Habit Burger & Grill restaurant will be open Mon-Sun 10:30 a.m. -10:00 p.m. Connect with Habit Burger & Grill on social media at : About The Habit Restaurants, Inc. Born in sunny Southern California in 1969, Habit Burger & Grill is known for Charburgers cooked-to-order over an open flame. But the menu extends far beyond burgers—it's a celebration of Californian-inspired flavors. Alongside the brand's signature Charburgers is a meaningful array of handcrafted sandwiches, crisp salads, and creamy shakes, ensuring there's something for everyone. Habit Burger & Grill has earned notable recognition, with its Double Char ranked #1 by USA Today 10Best*, its Tempura Green Beans named the #1 side by USA Today 10Best, and its Chicken Club recognized as the best grilled chicken sandwich by The Daily Meal. The brand was also featured in Newsweek's America's Favorite Restaurant Chains 2023 and included in Thrillist's roundup of Underrated Burger Chains that Need to be in Every State! Habit Burger & Grill has since grown to over 385 restaurants across 14 states and internationally—continuing to serve up bold fresh flavors, made-to-order. Learn more at Sources: USA Today 10Best, USA Today 10Best, The Daily Meal, Newsweek,The Daily Meal,Thrillist Habit Burger & Grill Press Contact: [email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
New York Times
15-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
John MacArthur, Firebrand Preacher and Culture Warrior, Dies at 86
The Rev. John MacArthur, a theologically uncompromising pastor in Southern California who influenced generations of evangelical preachers and became a culture warrior late in life, died on Monday in Santa Clarita, Calif. He was 86. His death was announced by Phil Johnson, who headed up Mr. MacArthur's media ministry and edited many of his books. Mr. MacArthur had several operations on his heart and lungs over the years, and he had been hospitalized this month after contracting pneumonia. Mr. MacArthur, a theological conservative and natural polemicist, preached from the same pulpit at Grace Community Church in the Los Angeles area — often at length, up to five times a week — for almost his entire career. When he was preaching, he always wore a suit and tie, eschewing the casual style of many evangelical pastors. His church's growth defied conventional wisdom about 'seeker-sensitivity,' a model that emphasized appealing to non-churchgoers. Mr. MacArthur eschewed a more accessible evangelical preaching style that favored ostensibly real-life anecdotes and practical applications. His dogged emphasis on expository preaching — narrowly focused on the meaning and historical context of a particular piece of scripture — influenced thousands of conservative Protestant pastors who studied at the seminary he led, or simply listened to his sermons on the radio or online. 'Evangelicalism is a pulpit-driven movement, and John has driven the most influential pulpit in evangelical Christianity for more than a half a century,' R. Albert Mohler Jr., the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Louisville, Ky., said in an interview earlier this year. In recent years, Mr. MacArthur increasingly waded into political and cultural skirmishes. He denounced critical race theory and became a leading Christian critic of 'wokeness.' After his church closed for several months at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, it defied state public health orders and began holding indoor in-person services. The church later received an $800,000 settlement from the state and Los Angeles County, after suing on the grounds that the restrictions impinged on religious freedom. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California Republicans tell Trump ICE raids should focus on criminals, not ordinary workers
Six Republicans in the California Legislature have sent a letter to President Trump urging him to focus on targeting violent criminals in his immigration crackdown, saying that the sweeping ongoing raids are instilling widespread fear in their communities and driving workers out of critical industries. State Sen. Suzette Valladares (R-Santa Clarita) led the Republican coalition in sending the letter asking that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security alter their enforcement tactics, which the politicians say are leading to the arrest of non-criminal migrants and labor shortages that are worsening the state's affordability crisis. "The recent ICE workplace raids on farms, at construction sites, and in restaurants and hotels, have led to unintended consequences that are harming the communities we represent and the businesses that employ our constituents," wrote the Republicans. "We have heard from employers in our districts that recent ICE raids are not only targeting undocumented workers, but also creating widespread fear among other employees, including those with legal immigration status. "We urge you to direct ICE and DHS to focus their enforcement operations on criminal immigrants, and when possible to avoid the kinds of sweeping raids that instill fear and disrupt the workplace," they added. Read more: Most nabbed in L.A. raids were men with no criminal conviction, picked up off the street From June 1 to 10, ICE data show that 722 people were arrested in the Los Angeles region, according to figures obtained by the Deportation Data Project at UC Berkeley Law. A Times analysis found that 69% of those arrested during that period had no criminal conviction, and 58% had never been charged with a crime. Many of the raids were executed in open-air locations, such as car washes, Home Depot parking lots and street-vending spots. DHS said that from June 6 to 22, more than 1,600 immigrants were detained for deportation in Southern California but did not provide information on the number of those arrested who had criminal histories. Members of both the L.A. City Council and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors have said they are exploring legal avenues to prevent federal agents from unlawfully stopping, questioning or detaining individuals without reasonable suspicion — arguing that the ongoing raids are unconstitutionally based on the racial profiling of people in open-air locations. In the letter to the president, the Republican coalition say that the fear spread by ICE raids is exacerbating an already tight labor market. They also ask Trump to expand and streamline H-2A and H-2B visa programs to authorize more legal guest workers to enter the country to make it easier for employees to get the workers they need. "From construction to hospitality to food processing, California's employers are struggling to fill positions," the Republicans wrote. "Legal, temporary labor should be easier to access and better tailored to support a strong California economy." Read more: Farms, hotels and restaurants press Trump to exempt their businesses from immigration raids The coalition further urges the Trump administration to focus on modernizing the immigration system to allow non-criminal immigrants who have lived in local communities for years a pathway toward legal status. The letter is signed by Valladares; Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-Santee) and Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa), as well as members of the state Assembly Heath Flora (R-Ripon), Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach) and Laurie Davies (R-Oceanside). The White House did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment. The letter makes it clear that the six Republicans blame Democrats for enabling the mass entrance of illegal immigrants into the country and for killing Republican-authored bills in California that would allow local government to work with federal immigration authorities to deport criminals who are in this country illegally. "Under the previous administration, over ten million illegal immigrants entered the United States — a reality that harms our communities, overwhelms government services, and hurts businesses and working Americans alike," they wrote. The California Republicans say they fully support the Trump administration's effort to deport violent criminals and approve of his decision to federalize the National Guard to defend federal property and personnel from immigration-related unrest. 'Decades of failed policies have led us to the difficult situation we face today,' said Valladares in a statement on the letter. 'We are now urging the Administration to prioritize public safety, while advancing immigration and visa policies that strengthen our economy, secure our borders, and keep our communities safe.' Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
