Self-Managed Abortions Gain Attention, but Helpers Risk Legal Trouble
A network of organizations help women use medication to end early pregnancies safely. But it鈥檚 a legal gray area in Tennessee and other states that restrict abortion.
Blake Farmer
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Black Women Have Much at Stake in States Where Abortion Access May Vanish
For many women, abortion access has also meant better economic opportunities. But that could change in states that plan to ban most abortion access if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. And those constraints could have a big impact on Black women. In Tennessee, Black women have abortions at more than four times the rate of white women.
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Few Eligible Families Have Applied for Government Help to Pay for Covid Funerals
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse many families up to $9,000 in funeral expenses for loved ones who died of covid-19. But fewer than half of eligible families have applied, while others have run into application problems.
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Shopping for Space, Health Systems Make Over Malls
Dying malls have turned out to be good places to care for the living. During the pandemic, mall-to-medicine transitions accelerated, with at least 10 health systems moving in where retail has moved out.
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A Shortfall of ECMO Treatment Cost Lives During the Delta Surge
About 50% of the covid-19 patients who got the last-ditch life support treatment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center died. Researchers wanted to know what happened to the many patients they had to turn away because ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machines and the specialized staffers needed were in short supply. The grim answer: 90% of those turned away perished.
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Tennessee Offers to Expand Dental Schools as Medicaid Coverage Stretches Need
As states expand Medicaid鈥檚 dental benefits, they鈥檙e running up against a shortage of dentists willing to work on those patients, especially in rural communities. So Tennessee is helping dental schools expand and offering to pay off student loans for those who work in high-need areas.
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Health Care Firms Were Pushed to Confront Racism. Now Some Are Investing in Black Startups.
A new investment fund launched by one of the few Black venture capitalists in health care is focused on backing Black entrepreneurs. And the investors include some of the biggest names in for-profit health care.
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Medical Boards Pressured to Let It Slide When Doctors Spread Covid Misinformation
State medical boards have an obligation to investigate complaints about doctors, including those who may spread false information about medical care. But in Florida, Tennessee, and other states, lawmakers are moving to protect physicians using unproven covid treatments or spreading misinformation.
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App Attempts to Break Barriers to Bankruptcy for Those in Medical Debt
Medical bills are a leading reason people get stuck in a cycle of debt. Declaring bankruptcy is one lifeline, but attorney and court fees can put it out of reach. The nonprofit Upsolve created an app it calls the 鈥淭urboTax of bankruptcy鈥 to help people hit the reset button and rebuild their financial lives.
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Black-Owned Hospice Seeks to Bring Greater Ease in Dying to Black Families
National data shows that Black Medicare patients and their families are not making the move to comfort care as often as white patients are. Experts speculate it's related to spiritual beliefs and widespread mistrust in the medical system due to decades of discrimination.
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Why an HBCU Med School Decided to Put CARES Act Money Into Students鈥 Pockets
More than most schools, the country鈥檚 historically Black colleges and universities are funneling stimulus money directly to students, wiping out loans and past-due fees. But one is going a step further with its financial assistance.
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The ER Charged Him $6,500 for Six Stitches. No Wonder His Critically Ill Wife Avoided the ER.
With few options for health care in their rural community, a Tennessee couple鈥檚 experience with one outrageous bill could have led to a deadly decision the next time they needed help.
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As Constituents Clamor for Ivermectin, Republican Politicians Embrace the Cause
Hospitals and doctors are facing more demands for ivermectin as a covid-19 treatment, despite a lack of proof it works. In some Republican-dominated states, pushing for ivermectin interventions has become a conservative rallying cry.
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Worn-Out Nurses Hit the Road for Better Pay, Stressing Hospital Budgets 鈥 And Morale
Managers are trapped in a pricey hiring cycle, competing for critical care nurses who can monitor covid patients on life support. Some hospitals are looking abroad to replace staffers who quit to become travel nurses or leave the profession.
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ICUs Are Filled With Covid 鈥 And Regret
Unvaccinated people are filling intensive care beds and dying of covid in record numbers in Tennessee and other Southern states. Many tell their nurses and doctors they regret the decision not to get the vaccine when they could.
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ECMO Life Support Is a Last Resort for Covid, and in Short Supply in South
Many more people could benefit from the lifesaving treatment than are receiving it, which has made for messy triaging as the delta variant surges across the South and in rural communities with low covid vaccination rates.
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A Health Care Giant Sold Off Dozens of Hospitals 鈥 But Continued Suing Patients
Community Health Systems, a large, for profit hospital chain, shrank from more than 200 to 84 facilities. It is continuing to sue patients for hospitals that now exist as little more than legal entities.
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As Covid Vaccinations Slow, Parts of the US Remain Far Behind 70% Goal
Vermont and Massachusetts lead the nation, with more than 70% of adults having had at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine. Southern states like Tennessee lag far behind.
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For Kurdish Americans in Nashville, a Beloved Leader’s Death Prompts Vaccine Push
Some immigrant groups are closing the ethnic gap on COVID-19 shots. For many Kurdish Americans, their fears about vaccination are entangled with their experiences in refugee camps after fleeing Iraq.
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Dramatic Drop in Common Viruses Raises Question: Masks Forever?
Hospitalizations are down 62% for childhood respiratory illnesses, a study shows. Masking and social distancing are keeping a variety of viruses in check this flu season.
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