What Mobile Clinics in Dollar General Parking Lots Say About Health Care in Rural America

KFF Health News Original

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.

More Schools Stock Overdose Reversal Meds, but Others Worry About Stigma

KFF Health News Original

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.

These Appalachia Hospitals Made Big Promises to Gain a Monopoly. They’re Failing to Deliver.

KFF Health News Original

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.

As Covid Infections Rise, Nursing Homes Are Still Waiting for Vaccines

KFF Health News Original

“People want covid-19 to be in the rearview mirror,” one nursing home official says. Faced with a slow rollout of the updated covid vaccines, and without state mandates for workers to get vaccinated, most skilled nursing facilities are relying on persuasion to boost vaccination rates among staff and residents.

Officials Agree: Use Settlement Funds to Curb Youth Addiction. But the ‘How’ Gets Hairy.

KFF Health News Original

Parents, educators, and elected officials agree that investing in school-based prevention efforts could help curb the rising rate of youth drug overdoses. The well-known D.A.R.E. program is one likely choice, but its effectiveness is in question.

Resurge la hepatitis C, ¿podrá el plan de Biden eliminar este viejo flagelo en cinco años?

KFF Health News Original

Se calcula que el 40% de los más de 2 millones de personas con hepatitis C en Estados Unidos ni siquiera saben que la tienen, pero el virus puede estar dañando silenciosamente su hígado, causando cicatrices, insuficiencia hepática o cáncer de hígado.

Con cambios en Medicaid, residentes de zonas rurales se sienten abandonados a su suerte

KFF Health News Original

En las zonas rurales, la falta de acceso a navegadores, las personas que ayudan a los beneficiarios de Medicaid a mantener su cobertura o encontrar otro seguro si ya no reúnen los requisitos, podría agravar estas dificultades.

How Will Rural Americans Fare During Medicaid Unwinding? Experts Fear They’re on Their Own

KFF Health News Original

As states review their Medicaid rolls after the expiration of a pandemic-era prohibition against kicking recipients off the government insurance program, experts say the lack of help available to rural Americans in navigating insurance options puts them at greater risk of losing health coverage than people in metropolitan areas.

Hep C’s Number Comes Up: Can Biden’s 5-Year Plan Eliminate the Longtime Scourge?

KFF Health News Original

Before covid-19, hepatitis C held the distinction of claiming more American lives each year than any other infectious disease — that’s despite the marketing of several relatively affordable, highly effective treatments.

Despite Successes, Addiction Treatment Programs for Families Struggle to Stay Open

KFF Health News Original

Residential addiction treatment programs that allow parents to bring their children along have been recognized for their success. But a mix of logistical challenges and low reimbursement rates mean they struggle to stay afloat.

Trabajadores sufren mientras el Congreso y empresarios debaten la necesidad de normas contra el calor

KFF Health News Original

No existen normas federales para proteger a los trabajadores cuando los días son excesivamente calurosos. Y sin el apoyo bipartidista del Congreso, incluso con la atención urgente de la administración Biden, es posible que el alivio no llegue en años.

Mississippi’s Cervical Cancer Deaths Indicate Broader Health Care Problems

KFF Health News Original

Mississippi has among the highest cervical cancer mortality rates in the U.S. When low-income women can’t afford regular preventive care, much less gynecological visits, this highly preventable and treatable cancer becomes a killer.

California Offers Lifeline to 17 Troubled Hospitals

KFF Health News Original

California’s new lending program for distressed hospitals will provide Madera Community Hospital with interest-free loans of up to $52 million if it can agree on a viable reopening plan with Adventist Health. The state will offer an additional $240.5 million in interest-free loans to 16 other troubled hospitals.