Rural Dispatch: Sept. 30, 2025
20 Years After Katrina, Louisiana Still Struggles With Evacuation Plans That Minimize Health Risks
Halle Parker, Verite News
As the climate changes, hurricanes are intensifying more quickly, leaving Louisiana’s current mass evacuation plan in limbo. But transportation officials say the price is too high to switch to methods used in Florida and Texas.
As Trump Punts on Medical Debt, Battle Over Patient Protections Moves to States
Noam N. Levey and Katheryn Houghton and Arielle Zionts
Some states are enacting medical debt laws as the Trump administration pulls back federal protections. Elsewhere, industry opposition has derailed legislation.
Health Care Cuts Threaten Homegrown Solutions to Rural Doctor Shortages
Bernard J. Wolfson
In a rural, largely Republican region of California, homegrown efforts to bolster the medical workforce face an uphill battle, in part because of federal health care cuts approved by the GOP Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in July, as well as a state budget deficit.
Projected Surge in Uninsured Will Strain Local Health Systems
Sam Whitehead and Renuka Rayasam
In South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, many people go without health insurance, and the health system struggles as a result. Similar communities dot the nation, and more could face such difficulties under President Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending law.
When I Go, I’m Going Green
Paula Span
In a survey by the National Funeral Directors Association, more than 60% of respondents said they would be interested in exploring green and natural burial alternatives.
Do Pediatricians Recommend Vaccines To Make a Profit? There’s Not Much Money in It
Madison Czopek, PolitiFact
Four pediatricians said evidence-based science and medicine and a desire to keep kids healthy drive doctors’ childhood vaccination recommendations. And while pediatric practices might make money immunizing privately insured children, most practices likely break even or lose money from providing the shots.
Instead of Selling, Some Rural Hospitals Band Together To Survive
Arielle Zionts
Independent and rural hospitals are collaborating with their neighbors to shore up their finances instead of joining larger health systems to stay afloat.
Researchers Shift Tactics To Tackle Extremism as Public Health Threat
Taylor Sisk
As extremism and radicalization worsen in the United States, a group of researchers is trying out a new approach that addresses the issue as a public health problem.
Collaborative Networks Become Popular Lifeline for Rural Hospitals
Arielle Zionts
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Ticks Are Migrating, Raising Disease Risks if They Can’t Be Tracked Quickly Enough
Aaron Bolton, MTPR
Doctors need to know when to screen for tick-borne diseases in their communities. But it’s getting harder for local health departments to get funding for tick surveys as federal public health grants from agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dry up.
States Are Cutting Medicaid Provider Payments Long Before Trump Cuts Hit
Bram Sable-Smith and Sarah Jane Tribble
North Carolina and Idaho are cutting their Medicaid programs to bridge budget gaps, raising fears that providers will stop taking patients and that hospitals will close even before the brunt of a new federal tax-and-budget law takes effect.
As the Trump Administration and States Push Health Data Sharing, Familiar Challenges Surface
Sarah Kwon
Despite billions of tax dollars and two decades of effort invested in improving health care data sharing, Americans’ medical records often remain siloed, leading to duplicate testing, increased costs, and wasted time for patients and doctors.