Rural Doctors’ Training May Be In Jeopardy
A program designed to address the shortage of doctors in rural and poor urban areas could be in peril unless Congress acts.
States Urged To Reduce Pregnancy-Related Deaths
States are being asked to collect data on the deaths of pregnant women and new mothers to determine how to reduce maternal mortality rates.
Are States Obligated To Provide Expensive Hepatitis C Drugs?
New hepatitis C drugs boast cure rates of at least 95 percent. But states are restricting their use for Medicaid patients and prisoners because the cost is so high.
Rural Hospitals Team Up To Survive
Dozens of rural hospitals have closed in recent years, prompting others to form alliances.
States Limiting Patient Costs For High-Priced Drugs
More states are stepping in to cushion the financial pain for patients who need medicine that can cost up to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
Not Expanding Medicaid Can Cost Local Taxpayers
Property owners in Dallas County, Texas, paid more than $467 million in taxes last year to Parkland Health and Hospital System, the county’s only public hospital, to provide medical care to the poor and uninsured. If Texas had expanded Medicaid, that amount would have been lower.
15 States Extend Health Law’s Higher Medicaid Payments To Doctors
The health law temporarily paid doctors more to handle the expected influx of patients when states expanded their Medicaid programs and some states are continuing that program because they find it has helped attract providers to the program.
Advocates And Experts Debate Need For More Regulation Of Fertility Services
A new Utah law allowing children conceived via sperm donation to see the medical histories of their fathers is seen as an exception to otherwise light regulation of assisted reproductive technology in states.
Osteopathic Medicine Meshes With New Health Care Needs
The number of osteopathic doctors is increasing sharply, helping to meet the demand for primary care.
‘Pastoral Counselors’ Help Fill Mental Health Gap In Rural States
Six states allow these counselors
Vermont Is ‘Single-Payer’ Trailblazer
Vermont plays the maverick again in trying to be the first state to implement a single-payer health care system.
Pitfalls Emerge in Health Insurance Renewals
Automatically renewing your Obamacare policy could cost you thousands.
States Battle Asthma as Numbers Grow
With a climate especially bad for asthmatics, Missouri has been a pioneer in fighting the disease.
Nearly 4 Million Seriously Mentally Ill Still Without Insurance
In states that agreed to expand Medicaid, about 3 million people who have those conditions are now eligible for coverage, however the 24 states that refused the Medicaid expansion have nearly millions with severe mental illness without insurance.
The Rise Of Medical Identity Theft In Healthcare
As modern technology has ushered in more convenience and flexibility for users, it has also burdened victims with one worry: Identity theft.
Medicaid Waivers’ Role in Innovation, Coverage Expansion
Medicaid waivers, as cumbersome as they are to achieve, present a path to coverage expansion and innovation in Medicaid in the states — though only a handful have or are seeking them.
Affording The Affordable Care Act
Despite the name of the new health care law, anti-poverty agencies nationwide fear that the poor will continue to struggle to find affordable health insurance coverage.
Are There Enough Doctors For The Newly Insured?
With the health law bringing newly insured consumers as of Jan. 1, experts wonder whether some will have trouble gaining access to timely treatment.
Why Some State Health Exchanges Worked
The most successful exchanges kept things simple, amply tested systems
Kids’ Dental Coverage Uncertain Under Obamacare
Provisions in the fine print of the Affordable Care Act could prevent some children from receiving dental coverage.