Pregnancy Care Was Always Lacking in Jails. It Could Get Worse.
A lack of oversight and standards for pregnancy care in jails is becoming more problematic as the number of incarcerated women rises and abortion restrictions put medical care further out of reach.
The state鈥檚 surgeon general grants parents permission to send unvaccinated children to school during a measles outbreak, risking their health and that of others.
Lawsuits Claim South Carolina Kids Underwent Unnecessary Genital Exams During Abuse Investigations
Lawsuits allege that several children under 18 in South Carolina have undergone examinations of their private parts during child abuse investigations 鈥 even when there were no allegations of sexual abuse. There鈥檚 a growing consensus in medicine that genital exams can be embarrassing, uncomfortable, and even traumatic.
Death and Redemption in an American Prison
More than a quarter century after an inmate helped start a hospice program in one of the nation鈥檚 most notorious prisons, he is trying to spread the idea.
Southern Lawmakers Rethink Long-Standing Opposition to Medicaid Expansion
While many Republican state lawmakers remain firmly against Medicaid expansion, some key leaders in holdout states are showing a willingness to reconsider. Public opinion, financial incentives, and widening health care needs make resistance harder.
Early Detection May Help Kentucky Tamp Down Its Lung Cancer Crisis
After a decade of work, a Kentucky program launched to diagnose lung cancer earlier is beginning to change the prognosis for residents by catching tumors when they鈥檙e more treatable.
States Target Health Insurers鈥 鈥楶rior Authorization鈥 Red Tape
Doctors, patients, and hospitals have railed for years about the prior authorization processes that health insurers use to decide whether they鈥檒l pay for patients鈥 drugs or medical procedures. The Biden administration announced a crackdown in January, but some state lawmakers are looking to go further.
For the first time, a jury has convicted a parent of a school shooter of charges related to the child鈥檚 crime, finding a mother in Michigan guilty of involuntary manslaughter and possibly opening a new legal avenue for gun control advocates. Meanwhile, as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case challenging the FDA鈥檚 approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, a medical publisher has retracted some of the journal studies that lower-court judges relied on in their decisions. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of 蘑菇影院 Health News join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Halfway Through 鈥楿nwinding,鈥 Medicaid Enrollment Is Down About 10 Million
While more Medicaid beneficiaries have been purged in the span of a year than ever before, enrollment is on track to settle at pre-pandemic levels.
Advocates Say a Practice Harms Disabled Children, Yet Congressional Action Is Stalled
In the photos, a 9-year-old boy with autism appears barricaded between cubbies and furniture stacked near the walls of a North Carolina classroom. His mother, Erin McGrail, said her son was physically restrained at least 14 times while in third grade at Morrisville Elementary School. She said she learned details of his seclusion only after […]
More 鈥楴avigators鈥 Are Helping Women Travel to Have Abortions
After the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal right to an abortion and many states banned the procedure, reproductive health care organizations hired dozens of people to help patients arrange travel and pay for care.
Surge in Syphilis Cases Leads Some Providers to Ration Penicillin
Injectable penicillin is the go-to treatment for syphilis and the only treatment considered safe for pregnant people with the disease. But as rates of syphilis increase across the U.S., a shortage of the injectable has prompted some public health agencies to ration it.
Ketamine Therapy for Mental Health a 鈥榃ild West鈥 for Doctors and Patients
Ketamine, approved by the FDA as an anesthetic in 1970, is emerging as a major alternative mental health treatment, and there are now more than 500 ketamine clinics around the country. But with little regulation and widely varying treatment protocols, it鈥檚 a medical “wild West.”
How Fringe Anti-Science Views Infiltrated Mainstream Politics 鈥 And What It Means in 2024
Opposition to vaccines and other public health measures backed by science has become politically charged. That makes dangerous misinformation much harder to fight.
Records Show Publix Opioid Sales Grew Even as Addiction Crisis Prompted Other Chains鈥 Pullback
As national prescription drug distributors and pharmacies restricted the flow of oxycodone and other painkillers in response to the growing opioid crisis, Florida鈥檚 most popular grocery store ramped up its sales and distribution of the highly addictive drugs, according to a Tampa Bay Times analysis of federal data.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Health Enters the Presidential Race
New Hampshire voters have spoken, and it seems increasingly clear that this November鈥檚 election will pit President Joe Biden against former President Donald Trump. Both appear to be making health a key part of their campaigns, with Trump vowing (again) to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and Biden stressing his support for contraception and abortion rights. Meanwhile, both candidates will try to highlight efforts to rein in prescription drug prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join 蘑菇影院 Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Sarah Somers of the National Health Law Program about the potential consequences for the health care system if the Supreme Court overturns a key precedent attempting to balance executive vs. judicial power.
Rising Suicide Rate Among Hispanics Worries Community Leaders
The suicide rate for Hispanics in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade. The reasons are varied, say community leaders and mental health experts, citing factors such as language barriers, poverty, and a lack of bilingual mental health professionals.
In This Oklahoma Town, Most Everyone Knows Someone Who鈥檚 Been Sued by the Hospital
Hospitals nationwide face growing scrutiny over how they secure payment from patients, but at one community hospital, the debt collection machine has been quietly humming along for decades.
Insurance Doesn鈥檛 Always Cover Hearing Aids for Kids
California鈥檚 governor vetoed a bill extending insurance coverage for kids with hearing loss, but most states now require it.
Women and Minorities Bear the Brunt of Medical Misdiagnosis
Hundreds of thousands of Americans become disabled or die each year because of a diagnostic error. But some patients are at higher risk than others.
