Looming Cuts to Emergency SNAP Benefits Threaten Food Security in Rural America

In a few weeks, pandemic-era emergency boosts to SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, will be rolled back across 32 states, putting more pressure on food pantries to fill the gaps and exacerbating challenges for rural areas, where a greater share of people are enrolled in the program compared with metro areas.

Unmet Needs: Critics Cite Failures in Health Care for Vulnerable Foster Children

More states are moving to specialized managed-care contracts solely to handle medical and behavioral services for foster kids. But child advocates, foster parents, and even state officials say these and other care arrangements are shortchanging foster kids’ health needs.

The Decision of Where to Seek Care Is Complicated by the Multitude of Options

The proliferation of care options — particularly urgent care centers and free-standing emergency departments — can make the head spin. Facilities have little incentive to clear up the confusion of where to go. But for patients, the wrong choice can mean big bills and possibly poor health outcomes.

The Official Who Investigates Suspicious Deaths in Your Town May Be a Doctor — Or Not

Across the country, there are no consistent requirements for the officials who investigate suspicious and unexpected deaths. Some have no medical training, others are doctors trained in forensic pathology. Washington, California, Illinois, and Georgia are among the states that have recently attempted to make changes — with mixed success.

Why Medicaid Expansion Ballots May Hit a Dead End After a Fleeting Victory in South Dakota

Since 2017, Medicaid expansion has been adopted in seven states where a question was placed directly on the ballot. But campaign leaders say that strategy may not work in Florida and Wyoming, where Republican opposition remains strong.

Abrumados por los costos, hospitales crean sus propias agencias de enfermería

Cada vez más sistemas hospitalarios están creando equipos internos de personal para hacer frente a la escasez de enfermeras provocada por la pandemia, y para tratar de vencer a las agencias privadas de personal temporal con sus propias armas.

Squeezed by Temp Nurse Costs, Hospital Systems Create Their Own Staffing Agencies

Hospitals have depended on travel nurses to fill shifts, especially during covid surges. Now some larger systems, reeling from high contract labor costs, have created staffing units, aiming to lure nurses who want more work flexibility and better pay than staff RNs get.

Much of the CDC Is Working Remotely. That Could Make Changing the Agency Difficult.

Like many U.S. workplaces, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention went remote during the pandemic. Most of the agency’s staff members haven’t returned to the office full time, raising concerns about the CDC’s ability to reform itself after recent stumbles.