Rural Dispatch: Oct. 31, 2023
She Received Chemo in Two States. Why Did It Cost So Much More in Alaska?
By Arielle Zionts
A breast cancer patient who received similar treatments in two states saw significant differences in cost, illuminating how care in remote areas can come with a stiffer price tag.
These Appalachia Hospitals Made Big Promises to Gain a Monopoly. They’re Failing to Deliver.
By Brett Kelman and Samantha Liss
Ballad Health, the only hospital system across a large swath of Tennessee and Virginia, has fallen short of quality-of-care and charity care obligations — even as it’s sued thousands of patients for unpaid bills.
Residents of a Rural Arkansas County Grapple With Endemic Gun Violence
By Renuka Rayasam
Rural gun homicides have often been overshadowed by violence in cities. But they are taking their toll on small communities ill-equipped to deal with the challenges.
Millions of Rural Americans Rely on Private Wells. Few Regularly Test Their Water.
By Tony Leys
More than 43 million Americans drink, bathe, and cook with water from private wells, which can be tainted by farm or industrial runoff, leaky septic systems, or naturally occurring minerals.
Tiny, Rural Hospitals Feel the Pinch as Medicare Advantage Plans Grow
By Sarah Jane Tribble
More than half of seniors are enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans instead of traditional Medicare. Rural enrollment has increased fourfold and many small-town hospitals say that threatens their viability.
Health Care ‘Game-Changer’? Feds Boost Care for Homeless Americans
By Angela Hart
This month, the federal government started paying for treatments delivered outside hospitals and clinics, expanding funding for “street medicine” teams that treat homeless patients. California led the way on the change, which could help sick and vulnerable patients get healthy, sober, and, in some cases, into housing.
Feds Try to Head Off Growing Problem of Overdoses Among Expectant Mothers
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez and Katheryn Houghton
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.
Pregnant and Addicted: Homeless Women See Hope in Street Medicine
By Angela Hart
As homelessness explodes across California, so does the number of expectant mothers on the streets. Street medicine doctors are getting paid more by Medicaid and offering some of those mothers-to-be a chance to overcome addiction and reverse chronic diseases so they can have healthy babies — and perhaps keep them.
Facing Criticism, Feds Award First Maternal Health Grant to a Predominantly Black Rural Area
By Sarah Jane Tribble
Mississippi has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the U.S. Now, it also has a federal grant to help in rural areas. The award could signal more flexibility from federal officials.
More Schools Stock Overdose Reversal Meds, but Others Worry About Stigma
By Rae Ellen Bichell and Virginia Garcia Pivik
Colorado is among several states that ensure schools have access to the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone for free or at reduced cost. But most districts hadn’t signed up by the start of the school year for a state distribution program amid stigma around the lifesaving treatment.
What Mobile Clinics in Dollar General Parking Lots Say About Health Care in Rural America
By Sarah Jane Tribble
Dollar General’s pilot mobile clinic program has been touted by company officials, rural health experts, and analysts as a model that could help solve rural America’s primary care shortage. But its Tennessee launch has been met with local skepticism.
Journalists Offer Insights on Mobile Clinics and Suicide Prevention
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.