Colorado news

KFF Health News covers the health issues facing people who live in America’s rural reaches.

Evolving Overdose Crisis Shakes Previously Effective Treatments

KFF Health News Original

The prevalence of synthetic drugs is undercutting a previously effective and widely embraced opioid use disorder treatment tactic. Now, the model pioneered in Vermont a decade ago and adopted at sites nationwide, especially in hard-to-reach rural areas, is being forced to evolve.

As Transgender ‘Refugees’ Flock to New Mexico, Waitlists Grow

KFF Health News Original

As many states have moved to restrict or ban gender-affirming care for trans people, a few states, including New Mexico, have codified protections. But those laws don’t always mean accessing care is simple or quick, as a surge in new patients in the state collides with limited doctors and clinics.

Health Care ‘Game-Changer’? Feds Boost Care for Homeless Americans

KFF Health News Original

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.

Pregnant and Addicted: Homeless Women See Hope in Street Medicine

KFF Health News Original

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.