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.
Midwest Bureau
吃瓜不打烊 covers health care in the Midwest, with a bureau headquartered in St. Louis and staff reporters based in Iowa, Michigan, and South Dakota.
381 - 400 of 936 Results
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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.
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Possibility of Wildlife-to-Human Crossover Heightens Concern About Chronic Wasting Disease
A response is ramping up to a potential spillover of the neurological disease to humans from deer, elk, and other animals.
By Jim Robbins Health Enters the Presidential Race
Episode 331New 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 吃瓜不打烊 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.
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New York Joins Local Governments in Erasing Billions in Medical Debt
New York City is the latest jurisdiction to buy and forgive a backlog of unpaid medical bills for its residents. Local governments across the country, including in the Chicago area, are doing the same to reduce debt burdens for lower-income residents.
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The Colonoscopies Were Free. But the 鈥楽urgical Trays鈥 Came With $600 Price Tags.
Health providers may bill however they choose 鈥 including in ways that could leave patients with unexpected bills for 鈥渇ree鈥 care. Routine preventive care saddled an Illinois couple with his-and-her bills for 鈥渟urgical trays.鈥
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Native American Communities Have the Highest Suicide Rates, Yet Interventions Are Scarce
Native Americans die by suicide at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group, yet research into effective and culturally appropriate interventions is uncommon.
The Supreme Court vs. the Bureaucracy
Episode 330The Supreme Court this week heard oral arguments in a case that could radically alter the way federal agencies 鈥 including the Department of Health and Human Services 鈥 administer laws passed by Congress. A decision in the case is expected this spring or summer. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is struggling over whether to ban menthol cigarettes 鈥 a move that could improve public health but also alienate Black voters, the biggest menthol users. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Darius Tahir, who reported and wrote the latest 吃瓜不打烊-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature about a lengthy fight over a bill for a quick telehealth visit.
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Federal Program to Save Rural Hospitals Feels 鈥楪rowing Pains鈥
Fewer than two dozen rural hospitals were converted into Rural Emergency Hospitals in the program鈥檚 first year. Now, advocates and lawmakers say tweaks to the law are necessary to lure more takers and keep health care in rural communities.
By Sarah Jane Tribble and Tony Leys -
Hoping to Clear the Air in Casinos, Workers Seek to Ban Tobacco Smoke
Casinos in several states are fighting efforts to ban smoking, and trying to roll back existing anti-smoking laws. One planned facility even moved outside a city鈥檚 limits because of voter-approved smoking restrictions.
By Sandy West -
Rising Malpractice Premiums Price Small Clinics Out of Gender-Affirming Care for Minors
Even in states where laws protect minors鈥 access to gender-affirming care, malpractice insurance premiums are keeping small and independent clinics from treating patients.
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States Begin Tapping Medicaid Dollars to Combat Gun Violence
The Biden administration is allowing states to use money from the insurance program for low-income and disabled residents to pay for gun violence prevention. California and six other states have approved such spending, with more expected to follow.
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Listen to 鈥楾radeoffs鈥: How the Loss of a Rural Hospital Compounds the Collapse of Care
Six years ago, the hospital in Fort Scott, Kansas, shuttered, leaving residents in the small community without a cornerstone health care institution. In the years since, despite new programs meant to save small hospitals, dozens of other communities have watched theirs close.
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Woman Petitions Health Insurer After Company Approves 鈥 Then Rejects 鈥 Her Infusions
Even people with good insurance aren't guaranteed affordable care, as this 吃瓜不打烊 follow-up to one patient鈥檚 saga shows.
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Can Family Doctors Deliver Rural America From Its Maternal Health Crisis?
Family medicine doctors already deliver most of rural America's babies, and efforts to train more in obstetrics care are seen as a way to cope with labor and delivery unit closures.
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Deep Flaws in FDA Oversight of Medical Devices, and Patient Harm, Exposed in Lawsuits and Records
Thousands of medical devices are sold, and even implanted, with no safety tests.
By Fred Schulte and Holly K. Hacker -
The Year in Opioid Settlements: 5 Things You Need to Know
In the past year, opioid settlement money has gone from an emerging funding stream for which people had lofty but uncertain aspirations to a coveted pot of billions being invested in remediation efforts. Here are some important and evolving factors to watch going forward.
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Patients Facing Death Are Opting for a Lifesaving Heart Device 鈥 But at What Risk?
The HeartMate 3 is considered the safest mechanical heart pump of its kind, but a federal database contains more than 4,500 reports in which the medical device may have caused or contributed to a patient鈥檚 death.
By Daniel Chang and Holly K. Hacker -
鈥楾hey See a Cash Cow鈥: Corporations Could Consume $50 Billion of Opioid Settlements
As opioid settlement dollars land in government coffers, a swarm of businesses are positioning themselves to profit from the windfall. But will their potential gains come at the expense of the settlements鈥 intended purpose 鈥 to remediate the effects of the opioid epidemic?