Colorado Dropped Medicaid Enrollees as Red States Have, Alarming Advocates for the Poor
Colorado defended its high disenrollment rates following the covid crisis by saying that what goes up must come down. Advocates and researchers disagree.
GOP’s Tim Sheehy Revives Discredited Abortion Claims in Pivotal Senate Race
In Montana’s U.S. Senate race, Republican Tim Sheehy made the false claim that his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, supports abortion “up to and including the moment of birth.”
Planned Parenthood to Blitz GOP Seats, Betting Abortion Fears Can Sway Voters
The reproductive rights organization hopes to oust GOP incumbents from key California congressional seats by highlighting the possibility of a national abortion ban. A state Republican official calls it a swing and a miss, noting that, under Democrats, hospitals have closed maternity wards and filed for bankruptcy.
Planned Parenthood enfrenta a los republicanos y espera captar el apoyo de los votantes
Esta ofensiva estratégica es parte de un esfuerzo nacional más amplio del grupo de derechos reproductivos, que se propone evitar que una mayoría republicana apruebe restricciones al derecho al aborto, incluida una prohibición nacional.
Rate of Young Women Getting Sterilized Doubled After ‘Roe’ Was Overturned
A recent study found that the rate of women 18 to 30 getting tubal ligations doubled in the 16 months following the Dobbs decision. The number of young men getting vasectomies also shot up, but men still get sterilized much less often than women.
Montana Creates Emergency ‘Drive-Thru’ Blood Pickup Service for Rural Ambulances
The network is aimed at helping rural patients, who face higher rates of traumatic injuries and death but may not live near a hospital with a stockpile of blood.
Safety-Net Health Clinics Cut Services and Staff Amid Medicaid ‘Unwinding’
One of Montana’s largest safety-net health centers announced it will lay off nearly 10% of its workforce because of revenue losses it attributes to vast Medicaid disenrollments. Such cuts are happening elsewhere too.
Medicaid Unwinding Deals Blow to Tenuous System of Care for Native Americans
Although Native American and Alaska Native adults are enrolled in Medicaid at higher rates than their white counterparts, many tribal leaders feel they’ve been left in the dark as states roll through the tumultuous Medicaid unwinding that started last year.
Addiction Treatment Homes Say Montana’s Funding Fixes Don’t Go Far Enough
Montana has created a voucher program to help cover room and board costs at low-intensity residential programs for people with addiction. Those running the homes say bridging that care is urgent but that the program’s funding falls far below the need.
Federal Panel Prescribes New Mental Health Strategy To Curb Maternal Deaths
The leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States — including suicides and fatalities linked to substance use disorders — stem from mental health conditions. Now a federal task force has recommended strategies to help women who are at risk during or after pregnancy.
Proponen estrategia federal de salud mental para frenar muertes maternas
La depresión perinatal afecta a un 20% de las mujeres en Estados Unidos durante el embarazo, el posparto o ambos.
Democrats Seek To Make GOP Pay for Threats to Reproductive Rights
Democrats running for office are using abortion rollbacks to galvanize voters, with abortion rights ballot initiatives amplifying their lines of attack. In Missouri, the leading Democratic candidate for the Senate also blames Republican Sen. Josh Hawley for threatening access to IVF.
Unsheltered People Are Losing Medicaid in Redetermination Mix-Ups
Some of the nearly 130,000 Montanans who have lost Medicaid coverage as the state reevaluates eligibility are homeless. That’s in part because Montana kicked more than 80,000 people off the program for technical reasons rather than income ineligibility. For unhoused people who were disenrolled, getting back on Medicaid can be extraordinarily difficult.
The Path to a Better Tuberculosis Vaccine Runs Through Montana
Researchers at the University of Montana have pitched in to develop a more effective vaccine in the fight against an ancient disease that still kills an estimated 1.6 million people a year worldwide.
En Montana, investigan una nueva y poderosa vacuna contra la tuberculosis
La tuberculosis mata a 1.6 millones de personas anualmente, en especial en zonas pobres del planeta.
Native Americans Have Shorter Life Spans. Better Health Care Isn’t the Only Answer.
Social services, such as parenting classes and economic development programs, can help increase the life spans of Native Americans, some health experts say. But insurers don’t always cover these services.
Paris Hilton Backs California Bill Requiring Sunshine on ‘Troubled Teen Industry’
Celebrity hotel heiress Paris Hilton is expanding her campaign for more public reporting on residential therapeutic centers’ use of restraints and seclusion rooms in disciplining teens, setting her sights on legislation in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.
Doctors Take On Dental Duties to Reach Low-Income and Uninsured Patients
More doctors are integrating oral health care into their practices, filling a need in America’s dental deserts.
Médicos de atención primaria asumen tareas de dentista para ayudar a pacientes vulnerables
En Denver, la inestabilidad de la vivienda, las barreras del idioma, la falta de transporte y el “costo astronómico” de la odontología sin seguro hacen que la atención dental sea inaccesible para muchos nuevos inmigrantes.
Journalists Dig Into Measles, Abortion Access, and Medicaid Expansion
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
