Healthcare Workers Have To Pay for Insurance, Too. And They鈥檙e Also Feeling the Pinch.
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Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
Four states will vote on abortion-related ballot measures in November, marking the fourth time in five years that millions of Americans will weigh in on their states鈥� abortion rules. The measures follow the Supreme Court鈥檚 鈥淒obbs鈥� decision, which upended federal abortion protections.
Like many Americans, Joshua and Ashley Durham saw their health insurance premiums rise by hundreds of dollars a month this year. Despite being healthcare practitioners all too aware of the risks, they chose to go uninsured. Others, though, can鈥檛 afford to go without.
The recent outbreak of a foodborne parasite sickened thousands and hospitalized hundreds across the U.S. before federal investigators identified the suspected source. Food safety experts say cuts to the public health system hobbled the response 鈥� and that the next outbreak could be much worse.
The tiny federal agency that tracks consumer product safety is pressuring hospitals to turn over patient records from emergency room visits, including about injuries that have nothing to do with consumer products.
杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Four years after the Volunteer State enacted the nation鈥檚 first law allowing drugstores to sell ivermectin without patient-specific prescriptions, dozens of pharmacies dispense the drug in highly concentrated pills 鈥� many with the help of one anti-vaccine physician.
A crisis pregnancy center in Sandpoint, Idaho, wants to expand women鈥檚 healthcare three years after the labor and delivery unit at the town鈥檚 hospital closed and its OB-GYNs moved out of state.
Some states bar professional midwives from attending home births if they don鈥檛 have a nursing license. Their advocates say laws to allow midwife licensing would make home birth safer and more accessible, plus help address a maternity care shortage.
Starting next year, about 18.5 million adults will be subject to new Medicaid work rules in 42 states and Washington, D.C. Applicants must show they鈥檝e been working for at least a month before receiving benefits. Some Republican-controlled states want to triple the required work period.
Some states already don鈥檛 have enough staff to quickly process Medicaid applications and answer enrollees鈥� phone calls. Researchers say they may not be prepared to handle new Medicaid work rules, predicting people will lose coverage as a result.
Montana was on track to start reimbursing doulas, who support new and expectant parents, through Medicaid this year. But state officials halted that plan amid a budget shortfall. Other such services deemed optional under Medicaid are at risk nationwide as states brace for federal cuts.
Iowa patient advocates say that in the face of federal Medicaid cuts, the state is quietly reducing in-home services that help people avoid being institutionalized. National groups are bracing for similar cuts elsewhere.
Idaho is positioning to slash Medicaid funding as state lawmakers grapple with the effects of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last year. On the table are in-home care services.
Experts say Affordable Care Act sign-up data won鈥檛 be clear until people who were enrolled have paid 鈥� or haven't paid 鈥� their new, often much higher, premiums.
鈥淢ake America Healthy Again鈥� policies driven by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have made major strides in state legislatures, with food additives among the most common targets. The trend is expected to continue this year.
Millions of people gained health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, reducing pressure on counties in states that fund care for the uninsured. With federal policies expected to reverse that trend, county officials wonder how they will fill the gap 鈥� and who will pay for it.
Abortion bans like Iowa鈥檚 have put OB-GYNs under increasing strain and surveillance, complicating the standard medical treatments for miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, premature membrane rupture, and other pregnancy problems. As many rural areas face worsening maternity care deserts, some physicians fear these laws could drive much-needed doctors out of state and dissuade others from moving in and establishing a practice.
On Idaho鈥檚 remote Fort Hall Reservation, thousands live without reliable high-speed internet, which supports health care, education, and daily life. Facing delays and wavering federal policy, Frances Goli is determined to spend more than $22 million in federal grant money before she runs out of time.
The Trump administration has championed its Rural Health Transformation Program as an investment in American families who have been left behind. But Native American tribes, whose communities have a significant presence in rural America and have some of the greatest health needs, are ineligible to apply directly for funding.
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