Tracking State Rural Health Transformation Plans
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Rural Health
KFF Health News covers the health issues facing people who live in America’s rural reaches.
41-60 of 815 results
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Anguished Parents. Doctors in Tears. Utah’s Long Measles Outbreak Takes a Toll.
Measles has been spreading in Utah for nearly a year, straining hospitals, schools, and parents. The state’s outbreak provides a glimpse into a new era in America’s health, in which vaccine-preventable diseases become common again.
By Amy Maxmen -
Trivia Nights, Valentine’s Cards: Overlooked Social Connections Can Prevent Suicide
The research is clear: Among the various complex issues that contribute to suicide, loneliness is a big one. Now, there’s a growing push to address loneliness not just through personal choices but also through public policy.
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Festering Infections to Untreated Cancer: ICE Detainees Describe Medical Neglect Across US
Immigrant detainees have told courts across the nation that detention officials have failed to treat or stabilize their conditions, from pregnancy to prostate cancer, suggesting that systemic lapses in care extend well beyond record deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
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Telehealth Booms as Demand for GLP-1s Surges and Questions Mount About Safety, Oversight
Many telehealth companies have emerged in recent years offering easy access to GLP-1 weight loss drugs as demand has exploded. Meanwhile, researchers and doctors are concerned that some of these online companies aren't properly screening or monitoring patients. “It gives a black eye to telemedicine,” one researcher said.
By Lauren Sausser and Maia Rosenfeld -
A Trump Stronghold Grapples With Health Risks of ICE Detention Sites
Several rural communities were thrust into a charged national debate over the Trump administration’s mass deportation strategy when federal officials sought to place new detention centers in them. In Social Circle, Georgia, locals fear the effort will overburden its modest healthcare infrastructure.
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In a Vaccine-Skeptical California County, a Potential Playbook To Contain Measles
Conservative Shasta County stopped a measles outbreak from spreading, enlisting teachers, church leaders, and other trusted community members to get the public on board with health guidelines. Infectious disease specialists say the successful effort could be a guide for other communities struggling to contain the highly contagious virus.
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Montana Hurries To Adopt Trump’s Medicaid Work Rules Amid Budget Woes
The state is ramping up to implement the federal work requirements six months ahead of the deadline. But Montana is one of several states already struggling to pay for health services.
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Cheaper, Alternative Health Plans Are Having a Moment, but Critics Urge Caution
Congress' decision not to extend enhanced marketplace tax credits has boosted the appeal of alternative health coverage with lower monthly premiums. Consumer advocates dismiss the plans as "junk insurance,” while proponents say patients need alternatives to pricey marketplace options.
By Sarah Kwon -
Trump’s $50B Rural Health Bet Meets a Healthcare Desert in North Carolina
Republicans promise that $50 billion in new health funding will help rural America. But it’s not expected to aid the years-long effort in North Carolina’s Martin County to reopen its only hospital.
By Sarah Jane Tribble and Amanda Seitz -
Religious Anti-Abortion Center Finds Opportunity in Town Without OB-GYNs
A crisis pregnancy center in Sandpoint, Idaho, wants to expand women’s healthcare three years after the labor and delivery unit at the town’s hospital closed and its OB-GYNs moved out of state.
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Efforts To Understand the Nation’s Drugged Driving Problem Stall Under Trump
The data behind alcohol-related traffic deaths is well studied. Less understood is the toll of vehicle deaths involving drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol. Attempts to fix that have been stymied by federal budget and staffing cuts.
By Jace DiCola -
Minnesota Lawmaker Proposes Using Hospital Tax To Fill Charity Care Gap
A Minnesota Star Tribune-KFF Health News investigation found charity care at hospitals in the state is offered at low and arbitrary levels, prompting Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to say, “There is more work in front of us.”
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License To Deliver: Some Midwives Break the Law To Assist With Home Births
Some states bar professional midwives from attending home births if they don’t have a nursing license. Their advocates say laws to allow midwife licensing would make home birth safer and more accessible, plus help address a maternity care shortage.
By Lisa Rab -
RFK Jr. Swaps Vaccine Talk for Healthy Foods and Reading to Tots in Push To Woo Voters
He tested robotic hands on a heart surgery patient and chewed on microgreens in Ohio, but Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. couldn’t dodge questions about the Trump administration’s more controversial policies.
By Amanda Seitz -
As Ranks of Uninsured Grow, Minnesota’s Hospitals Are Among Least Charitable in Nation
A Minnesota Star Tribune-KFF Health News investigation of hospital data and charity care programs shows most Minnesota hospitals provide little financial aid to patients and often make assistance difficult to get.
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States Eye Aid To Prop Up Distressed Hospitals Amid Federal Medicaid Cuts
Hundreds of hospitals nationwide are bracing for Medicaid cuts as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Some state lawmakers are eyeing loans and other forms of financial aid to distressed hospitals in rural and urban areas, as healthcare providers warn of cuts to critical services and scramble for funding.
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Delays in Visa Program Threaten Placement of Hundreds of Doctors in Underserved Areas
A federal agency has dramatically slowed its review of visa waiver applications that allow international physicians completing U.S. training programs to stay in the country to work in underserved areas. The delay may send hundreds of doctors back to their home countries.
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When Natural Disasters Strike, Another Crisis Hits Those Recovering From Opioid Addiction
Using Hurricane Helene as a teachable moment, a group of doctors outlined concrete steps that lawmakers can take to reverse a crisis in getting substance use medications during natural disasters.
By Andrew Jones -
Saving Lives by Changing Lives: The Next Frontier in Suicide Prevention
Someone in America dies by suicide every 11 minutes. It’s a tragic and entrenched problem. A new approach to prevention shifts the focus from stopping harm in moments of crisis to upstream policies that give people reasons to live.
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Big Companies Position Themselves for Payday From $50B Federal Rural Health Fund
A $50 billion federal fund is supposed to modernize rural health with electronic health records, AI, telehealth, and more. But community clinics and rural health advocates fear that the contractors administering the money for states will bite off a big chunk before it reaches rural patients.