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A 124-year-old hospital in a midsize Rust Belt city in Indiana will soon be torn down, despite protests from residents and city officials decrying the loss of local health services. The Catholic hospital system said it is downsizing the 226-bed hospital because of a lack of demand for inpatient care, as the organization has been building new hospitals in wealthier suburbs.
Legislators in Kansas are pushing bills to expand exemptions for school vaccines, allowing religious exemptions for all vaccine requirements in the state's schools without families having to provide any proof of their beliefs. Similar bills are being introduced around the nation as the anti-vaccine movement gains traction among politicians.
As states prepare for the end of the covid public health emergency, they are making plans to reevaluate each Medicaid enrollee鈥檚 eligibility. They will rely primarily on mail and email because not many states can text enrollees.
Loan closets are playing an important role as supply chain issues and the rising price of aluminum have led to shortages in medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and knee scooters.
President Joe Biden welcomed former President Barack Obama back to the White House this week to announce a new policy for the Affordable Care Act that would make subsidies available to more families with unaffordable employer coverage. Meanwhile, Congress struggled to find a compromise for continued federal funding of covid-19 vaccines, testing, and treatments. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Emergency medical services are a lifeline in regions with scarce medical care. But paramedics, trained to respond to patients with life-threatening injuries, are in short supply where they鈥檙e needed most.
Some doctors are getting licensed in multiple states so they can use telemedicine and mail-order pharmacies to provide medication abortions to more women. At the same time, states are cracking down on telemedicine abortions, blunting the efforts of out-of-state doctors.
The pandemic crisis has overwhelmed understaffed state Medicaid agencies, already delaying access to the insurance program in Missouri. As the public health emergency ends, low-income people nationwide could find it even harder to have coverage.
Federal data shows that vaccination rates for American Indians and Alaska Natives were some of the highest in the nation, but tribes say resistance has slowed efforts to boost members.
Illinois used federal pandemic money to hire community health workers who connect people with food banks and rental assistance programs, just like public health officials have long hoped to do. What will happen to the community trust that has been built up when the federal money runs out and the workers disappear?
Despite increased public awareness, research advances, and wider insurance coverage for autism therapies, children often wait months 鈥 in some cases more than a year 鈥 to get an autism diagnosis and begin intervention services. The waits can be longer for Black and Latino children, and families in rural areas are also disadvantaged, without access to providers.
Five states have created 鈥渁ssistant physician鈥 licenses that allow medical school graduates to practice without completing residency training. But a federal indictment in Missouri of one assistant physician has some original supporters trying to rein in the medical specialty.
Gun buying among African Americans has soared in recent years. So have suicide rates among young Black men. Suicide prevention and gun safety efforts need to address race and cultural differences, Black gun owners say.
Almost a year after the American Rescue Plan Act allocated what could amount to $25 billion to home and community-based services run by Medicaid, many states have yet to access much of the money due to delays and red tape.
Inoculation rates remain low despite massive outreach efforts and incentives from federal and state programs and Medicaid plan operators, leaving many low-income people vulnerable to the virus.
Missouri has more people waiting to have their Medicaid applications processed than it has approved since the expansion of the federal-state health insurance program. Although most states process Medicaid applications within a week, Missouri is taking, on average, more than two months. Patient advocates fear that means people will stay uninsured longer, leading them to postpone care or get stuck with high medical bills.
Conservative lawmakers may find their anti-abortion agendas complicated by state constitutions that explicitly grant citizens the right to privacy, regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court does.
Service dogs can help people with ailments from autism to epilepsy, but a trained dog can cost up to $40,000 鈥 and insurance won鈥檛 cover it.
State Medicaid agencies for months have been preparing for the end of a federal mandate that has prevented states from removing people from the safety-net program during the pandemic.
The Biden administration is getting rid of several policies implemented by Trump-era appointees that restricted enrollment. Federal officials now say states can no longer charge premiums to low-income residents enrolled in Medicaid and have ruled out work requirements.
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