Montana Pharmacists May Get More Power to Prescribe
By Keely Larson
January 27, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Supporters of a proposed law say it would fill a health provider gap in rural areas, while doctors worry it will give pharmacists power outside the scope of their education.
As Fewer MDs Practice Rural Primary Care, a Different Type of Doctor Helps Take Up the Slack
By Tony Leys
June 6, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The number of DOs is surging, and more than half of them practice in primary care, including in rural areas hit hard by doctor shortages.
South Dakota Voters Approved Medicaid Expansion, but Implementation May Not Be Easy
By Arielle Zionts
November 10, 2022
KFF Health News Original
South Dakotans voted to expand the state’s Medicaid program to cover thousands of additional low-income residents. But as other conservative states have shown, voter approval doesn’t always mean politicians and administrators will rush to implement the change.
The Case of the Two Grace Elliotts: A Medical Billing Mystery
By Mark Kreidler
December 21, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A health system charged a woman for a shoulder replacement at a hospital across the country that she had not visited for years. She didn’t receive the care, but she did receive the bill — and the medical records of a stranger.
Rural Colorado Tries to Fill Health Worker Gaps With Apprenticeships
By Kate Ruder
November 29, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A Grand Junction program is training and retaining nurse and personal care aides in areas where the aging population is creating a need for them. But challenges remain for these workers.
South Dakota Voters to Decide Medicaid Expansion
By Phil Galewitz
January 6, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Despite state Republican leaders’ rigid opposition to expanding the health program designed for low-income residents, advocates successfully gathered enough signatures to get the measure on the fall ballot.
A Tale of Two Medicaid Expansions: Oklahoma Jumps In, While Missouri Lags
By Bram Sable-Smith
December 3, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Voters in Missouri and Oklahoma approved Medicaid expansion to begin in 2021. But while Oklahoma has enrolled over 200,000 people so far, Missouri has enrolled fewer than 20,000. Why are two such similar states handling the public insurance rollout so differently?
Fact Check: Biden Sets High Bar in 1st State of the Union Speech
By Victoria Knight Colleen DeGuzman
March 2, 2022
KFF Health News Original
What a difference a year makes. The speech was delivered to a largely unmasked crowd of lawmakers, justices, and Cabinet members in the House chamber.
Missouri Takes Months to Process Medicaid Applications — Longer Than Law Allows
By Bram Sable-Smith Phil Galewitz
February 18, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Missouri has more people waiting to have their Medicaid applications processed than it has approved since the expansion of the federal-state health insurance program. Although most states process Medicaid applications within a week, Missouri is taking, on average, more than two months. Patient advocates fear that means people will stay uninsured longer, leading them to postpone care or get stuck with high medical bills.
Centene Showers Politicians With Millions as It Courts Contracts and Settles Overbilling Allegations
By Samantha Young Andy Miller Rebecca Grapevine
November 4, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Centene, the largest Medicaid managed-care company in the U.S., has thrown more than $26.9 million at political campaigns across the country since 2015, especially focused on states where it is wooing Medicaid contracts and settling accusations that it overbilled taxpayers. Among its tactics: Centene is skirting contribution limits by giving to candidates through its many subsidiaries.
Nursing Home Staff Levels At Lowest In Nearly 30 Years
January 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
A report from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living shows that there are 210,000 fewer workers than before the pandemic — the lowest level since 1994. Dollar General, CVS Health executives, Elevance Health, and more are also in the news.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 3: Patchwork of Urgent Care Frays After a Rural Hospital Closes
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 13, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Fort Scott, Kansas, went without an ER for 18 days, after the local hospital shut down. Documenting local trauma during that “dark period” helped investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble unravel some of the complications that come after a rural hospital closes.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 2: Unimaginable, After a Century, That Their Hospital Would Close
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 6, 2020
KFF Health News Original
After Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble traveled to Kansas and spent time with former hospital president Reta Baker and City Manager Dave Martin — to understand what their town lost.
Analysis Shows How Often FDA OKs Drugs Despite Mixed Or Failed Results
February 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
The joint Harvard-Yale research found that of 210 new therapies approved from 2018 through 2021, 21 of the drugs didn’t meet one or more of their goals, or end points. Those 21 drugs were approved to treat cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and other illnesses, USA Today reported.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 7: After a Rural Town Loses Hospital, Is a Health Clinic Enough?
By Sarah Jane Tribble
November 10, 2020
KFF Health News Original
In Fort Scott, Kansas, the Community Health Center’s big green-and-white sign replaced Mercy Hospital’s name on the front of the town’s massive medical building. In the final chapter of Season One: “No Mercy,” we have an appointment to see what’s inside.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 5: With Rural Hospital Gone, Cancer Care Means a Daylong Trek
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 27, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The hunt for good cancer treatment often means miles on the road, time spent waiting and exhaustion from treatment and transit. “The further you have to travel to get care, the less likely that you are going to take that effort to do that,” said Boban Mathew, an oncologist in southeastern Kansas.
Cien millones de vacunas contra covid en 100 días no nos hará volver a la normalidad
By Victoria Knight
February 3, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Los epidemiólogos estiman que es necesario inocular al menos al 70% de la población para que se alcance la inmunidad colectiva, para poder frenar la pandemia.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 4: So, 2 Nuns Step Off a Train in Kansas … A Hospital’s Origin Story
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 20, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Mercy Hospital and the people of Fort Scott, Kansas, have a long, tangled history. To understand what the town lost when the hospital shut its doors, we rewind the story to 1886.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 6: Trickle-Down Heartache Reaches the Next Generation in a Rural Town With No Hospital
By Sarah Jane Tribble
November 3, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Meet Josh. He’s a teenager in Fort Scott, Kansas, who dropped out of high school around the same time the town’s hospital closed. He says those two things are related.
‘No Mercy’ Explores the Fallout After a Small Town Loses Its Hospital
By Sarah Jane Tribble
September 29, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Listen to “Where It Hurts,” each episode debuting on Tuesdays, from Sept. 29 through Nov. 10. When Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, locals lost care. Health workers lost jobs. The hole left behind is bigger than a hospital. Season One is “No Mercy.”
