Rural Dispatch: August 2024

With Only Gloves To Protect Them, Farmworkers Say They Tend Sick Cows Amid Bird Flu
By Rae Ellen Bichell A Colorado picnic celebrated Farmworker Appreciation Day. But some dairy workers there said they aren’t feeling appreciated: They don’t have basic protective gear, even as bird flu spreads through area farms.

Patient Underwent One Surgery but Was Billed for Two. Even After Being Sued, She Refused To Pay.
By Tony Leys A collection agency sought court authority to garnish a patient’s wages to pay a disputed surgery bill. But after the patient showed up in court to argue the bill was bogus, the judge declined to let the bill collector seize her money.

Traveling To Die: The Latest Form of Medical Tourism
By Debby Waldman Medical aid in death is legal in 10 states and the District of Columbia. But only Oregon and Vermont explicitly allow out-of-state people who are terminally ill to die with assistance there. So far, at least 49 people have made the trek while state legislation stalls elsewhere.

Bipartisan Effort Paves Way for Reviving Shuttered Hospitals in Georgia
By Andy Miller and Sam Whitehead “Certificate of need” laws, largely supported by the hospital industry, limit health facility construction in 35 states and Washington, D.C. Georgia lawmakers decided its law was complicating the reviving of two hospitals critical to their communities.

Inside the Political Fight To Build a Rural Georgia Hospital
By Andy Miller and Sam Whitehead Political drama involving a rural Georgia county reflects how state regulations that govern when and where hospitals can be built or expanded are evolving.

Most Black Hospitals Across the South Closed Long Ago. Their Impact Endures.
By Lauren Sausser Taborian Hospital in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, was established to exclusively admit Black patients during a time when Jim Crow laws barred them from accessing the same health care facilities as white patients. Its closure underscores how hundreds of Black hospitals in the U.S. fell casualty to social progress.

Small-Town Patients Face Big Hurdles as Rural Hospitals Cut Cancer Care
By Charlotte Huff For rural patients, getting cancer treatment close to home has always been difficult. And now chemotherapy deserts are expanding across the United States as hospitals winnow services to save money, creating financial and logistical hurdles for people seeking lifesaving care.

Readers Weigh In on Abortion and Ways To Tackle the Opioid Crisis
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Journalists Highlight Maternal Health Challenges in Rural America, From Iowa to Georgia
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff took to the airwaves in the last couple of weeks to discuss maternal health care challenges in rural areas. Here’s a collection of their appearances.