The Lure of Specialty Medicine Pulls Nurse Practitioners From Primary Care
Nurse practitioners have been viewed as a key to addressing the shortage of primary care physicians. But data suggests that, just like doctors, they are increasingly drawn to better-paying specialties.
Clean Needles Save Lives. In Some States, They Might Not Be Legal.
As billions of dollars from settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors go to state and local governments, efforts to reduce the epidemic鈥檚 harm can be hamstrung by drug paraphernalia laws. Health authorities say distributing clean syringes to users can save lives, but in states like Pennsylvania, it may be illegal.
California鈥檚 $12 Billion Medicaid Makeover Banks on Nonprofits鈥 Buy-In
California鈥檚 Medicaid program is relying heavily on community groups to deliver new social services to vulnerable patients, such as security deposits for homeless people and air purifiers for asthma patients. But many of these nonprofits face staffing and billing challenges and haven鈥檛 been able to deliver services effectively.
Addiction Treatment Homes Say Montana鈥檚 Funding Fixes Don鈥檛 Go Far Enough
Montana has created a voucher program to help cover room and board costs at low-intensity residential programs for people with addiction. Those running the homes say bridging that care is urgent but that the program鈥檚 funding falls far below the need.
Tribal Nations Invest Opioid Settlement Funds in Traditional Healing To Treat Addiction
Hundreds of Native American tribes are getting money from settlements with companies that made or sold prescription painkillers. Some are investing it in sweat lodges, statistical models, and insurance-billing staffers.
Their First Baby Came With Medical Debt. These Illinois Parents Won鈥檛 Have Another.
Millions of new parents in the U.S. are swamped by medical debt during and after pregnancy, forcing many to cut back on food, clothing, and other essentials.
Las pruebas han detectado el virus en el ganado en nueve estados, principalmente en Texas y Nuevo M茅xico, y m谩s recientemente en Colorado. Una persona ha dado positivo para el H5N1.
California propone ampliar subsidios de seguros de salud a todos los inmigrantes adultos
California es el primer estado en ampliar Medicaid a todos los adultos que re煤nan los requisitos, independientemente de su estatus migratorio, una medida celebrada por los activistas de la salud y por l铆deres pol铆ticos de todo el estado.
California Floats Extending Health Insurance Subsidies to All Adult Immigrants
The legislature is considering taking the first steps to make Covered California plans available to immigrants without permanent legal status. The state has already extended Medi-Cal coverage to low-income immigrants.
Bird Flu Is Bad for Poultry and Dairy Cows. It鈥檚 Not a Dire Threat for Most of Us 鈥 Yet.
Cattle across the country are infected by the H5N1 bird flu. The virus isn鈥檛 spreading among people 鈥 but if it evolves to do that, fears of another pandemic could be realized.
Exposed to Agent Orange at US Bases, Veterans Face Cancer Without VA Compensation
The Department of Veterans Affairs has long given vets who served in Vietnam disability compensation for illness connected to Agent Orange harm. But those exposed at U.S. bases are still waiting for the same benefits.
En Colorado, reeval煤an leyes formuladas para proteger a los menores
Hay esfuerzos en Colorado y otros estados para revertir las leyes que obligan a informar sobre sospechas de abuso o negligencia, argumentando que el resultado ha sido demasiados informes infundados, que perjudican desproporcionadamente a las familias que son pobres, negras, ind铆genas o tienen miembros con discapacidades.
Mandatory Reporting Laws Meant To Protect Children Get Another Look
The state is looking at ways to weed out false reporting of child abuse and neglect as the number of reports reaches a record high.
Tire Toxicity Faces Fresh Scrutiny After Salmon Die-Offs
Tires emit huge volumes of particles and chemicals as they roll along the highway, and researchers are only beginning to understand the threat. One byproduct of tire use, 6PPD-q, is in regulators鈥 crosshairs after it was found to be killing fish.
Unsheltered People Are Losing Medicaid in Redetermination Mix-Ups
Some of the nearly 130,000 Montanans who have lost Medicaid coverage as the state reevaluates eligibility are homeless. That鈥檚 in part because Montana kicked more than 80,000 people off the program for technical reasons rather than income ineligibility. For unhoused people who were disenrolled, getting back on Medicaid can be extraordinarily difficult.
Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don鈥檛 Meet Them.
The staffing regulation was disparaged by the industry as unattainable. Patient advocates say it doesn鈥檛 go far enough. Labor unions welcomed the requirement.
Rural Jails Turn to Community Health Workers To Help the Newly Released Succeed
To reduce recidivism, some rural counties are hiring community health workers or peer support specialists to connect people leaving custody to mental health resources, substance use treatment, medical services, and jobs.
Native Americans Have Shorter Life Spans. Better Health Care Isn鈥檛 the Only Answer.
Social services, such as parenting classes and economic development programs, can help increase the life spans of Native Americans, some health experts say. But insurers don鈥檛 always cover these services.
Rural Americans Are Way More Likely To Die Young. Why?
Three words are commonly repeated to describe rural America and its residents: older, sicker and poorer. Obviously, there鈥檚 a lot more going on in the nation鈥檚 towns than that tired stereotype suggests. But a new report from the Agriculture Department鈥檚 Economic Research Service gives credence to the 鈥渟icker鈥 part of the trope. Rural Americans ages […]
Swap Funds or Add Services? Use of Opioid Settlement Cash Sparks Strong Disagreements
The national opioid settlements don鈥檛 prohibit using money for initiatives already supported by other means, but doing so could dilute the impact.
