Have Cancer, Must Travel: Patients Left In Lurch After Hospital Closes

KFF Health News Original

As the rural town of Fort Scott, Kan., grapples with the closure of its hospital, cancer patients face new challenges as they try to continue their treatments in different locations.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Fetal Tissue Research Is Latest Flashpoint In Abortion Debate

KFF Health News Original

Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail federally funded research using fetal tissue, the backlash from former Vice President Joe Biden’s support for the anti-abortion Hyde Amendment and how health policy intersects with both trade and immigration policy.

Listen: After Its Hospital Closes, A Pioneer Kansas Town Searches For What Comes Next

KFF Health News Original

Deep questions underlie what is happening in Fort Scott, Kan.: Do small communities like this one need a traditional hospital at all? And, if not, what health care do they need?

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ The Abortion Wars Rage On

KFF Health News Original

Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the latest news about women’s reproductive health policy and the latest skirmish in the debate over “Medicare-for-all”: how hospitals should be paid.

Listen: Syphilis Spreads Into Rural America

KFF Health News Original

Lauren Weber, one of Kaiser Health News’ new Midwest correspondents, joined St. Louis Public Radio reporter Jeremy Goodwin on “St. Louis on the Air” Friday to discuss how syphilis is making inroads into rural counties across the Midwest and West.

La sífilis avanza en zonas rurales, y una frágil red de salud no puede detenerla

KFF Health News Original

Mujeres embarazadas, hombres jóvenes y adolescentes forman parte del número cada vez mayor de pacientes con sífilis que llegan a las clínicas en las zonas rurales del país.

As Syphilis Invades Rural America, A Fraying Health Safety Net Is Failing To Stop It

KFF Health News Original

Syphilis is spreading from big cities into rural counties across the Midwest and West. One Missouri clinic has seen more than six times as many cases in the first few months of 2019 compared with the same period last year. Communities grappling with budget cuts and crumbling public health infrastructure also lack experience in fighting the disease.

Economic Ripples: Hospital Closure Hurts A Town’s Ability To Attract Retirees

KFF Health News Original

Celina, Tenn., has long lured retirees, with its scenic hills and affordability. These newcomers help fuel the local economy. But a recent hospital closure makes the town a harder sell.

Health Plans For State Employees Use Medicare’s Hammer On Hospital Bills

KFF Health News Original

Some plans are experimenting with the idea of closely tying hospital reimbursement rates to what Medicare pays. The approach could be a game changer in their effort to control health costs.

Plan de Trump para combatir el VIH puede encontrar barreras en la América rural

KFF Health News Original

En algunos estados no se habla de sexo ni de VIH. Oklahoma, por ejemplo, tiene la tasa más alta de pruebas tardías de VIH: las personas se hacen el test cuando ya desarrollaron SIDA.

Trump Plan To Beat HIV Hits Rough Road In Rural America

KFF Health News Original

Health officials and doctors treating patients with HIV welcome the funding push, but warn that the strategies that work in progressive cities don’t necessarily translate to rural areas.

After Bitter Closure, Rural Texas Hospital Defies The Norm And Reopens

KFF Health News Original

The 25-bed hospital in Crockett, Texas, abruptly closed its doors in 2017, joining the ranks of nearly 100 rural hospitals that have shut down in the past decade. But the community kept the faith and several doctors reopened the facility this year.

Community Frets As Buyer For Cherished Rural Hospital Slips From View

KFF Health News Original

Some residents of remote Surprise Valley in Northern California fear their hospital will close like so many others around the country, as hope wanes for financial support from a Denver entrepreneur. The businessman, Beau Gertz, had planned to raise money through lab billing for faraway patients.

Vulnerable Rural Hospitals Face Quandaries Over Questionable Billing Schemes

KFF Health News Original

Two Missouri hospitals handed over their operations to a private company that has vastly increased the money the hospitals bring in through their laboratories, even though the lab tests are not done on-site.