Feds Try to Head Off Growing Problem of Overdoses Among Expectant Mothers

Homicides, suicides, and drug overdoses have driven rising rates of pregnancy-related death in the U.S. This fall, six states received federal funding for substance use treatment interventions to prevent at least some of those deaths.

How Will Rural Americans Fare During Medicaid Unwinding? Experts Fear They’re on Their Own

As states review their Medicaid rolls after the expiration of a pandemic-era prohibition against kicking recipients off the government insurance program, experts say the lack of help available to rural Americans in navigating insurance options puts them at greater risk of losing health coverage than people in metropolitan areas.

Most States Have Yet to Permanently Fund 988. Call Centers Want Certainty.

For rural Americans, who live in areas often short of mental health services and die by suicide at a far higher rate than urbanites, the federally mandated crisis phone line is one of the few options to connect with a crisis counselor.

Montana Adds Protections for Kids in Private Residential Treatment Programs

Programs in the so-called troubled teen industry will be required to provide a 24-hour hotline and unmonitored video calls with family and be subject to more inspections under a new Montana law.

Foster Kids in Casino Hotels? It Happened in Rural Nevada Amid Widespread Foster Home Shortages

A nationwide decline in foster home spots has led to dire situations in some rural areas, including northeastern Nevada, where a state social worker has been pleading with community leaders to help address a shortage that left officials housing children in casino hotels.

As Medicaid Purge Begins, ‘Staggering Numbers’ of Americans Lose Coverage

In what’s known as the Medicaid “unwinding,” states are combing through rolls to decide who stays and who goes. But the overwhelming majority of people who have lost coverage so far were dropped because of technicalities, not because officials determined they are no longer eligible.

More States OK Postpartum Medicaid Coverage Beyond Two Months

Montana, Alaska, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming are among the latest states moving to provide health coverage for up to a year after pregnancy through the federal-state health insurance program for low-income people.