Durango’s Covid ‘Cowboy’ Rounds Up Spring Break Scofflaws, Lines ’Em Up for Shots
The city of Durango has hired an actor to bring his Old West acting skills to tackle a current problem: the Wild West of spring break, in which visitors from states such as Texas and Oklahoma flock to town. The “lawman” cajoles them into wearing masks while vaccinators stand ready for out-of-town visitors.
Getting a Prescription to Die Remains Tricky Even as Aid-in-Dying Bills Gain Momentum
Access to physician-assisted death is expanding across the U.S., but the procedure remains in Montana’s legal gray zone more than a decade after the state Supreme Court ruled physicians could use a dying patient’s consent as a defense.
Nosing In on Kids Who Had Covid and Lost Their Sense of Smell
Clinicians at pediatric hospitals are experimenting with “smell training” among children who had covid-19 and have now lost this sense.
Covid-Inspired Montana Health Insurance Proposal Wouldn’t Kick In for 2 Years
Montana is looking to join most other states in requiring small businesses to offer laid-off employees temporary continuity of their health care plans. But the bill, if it passes, likely won’t take effect in time to help people directly affected by the pandemic.
Need Amid Plenty: Richest US Counties Are Overwhelmed by Surge in Child Hunger
Hunger among kids is skyrocketing, even in America’s wealthiest counties. But given the nation’s highly uneven charitable food system, affluent communities have been far less ready for the unprecedented crisis than places accustomed to dealing with poverty and hardship.
For Spring Season, Young Athletes Get Back in the Game Despite Covid Risk
With schools opening up classrooms, millions of young athletes are also getting out on fields and courts. But pandemic precautions and delays are spurring conflicts among parents, coaches and doctors.
The Boom in Out-of-State Telehealth Threatens In-State Providers
Health provider conflicts, fraud and access disparity temper the covid telehealth revolution.
A Year Into the Pandemic, Three Huge Losses in One Family
The Aldaco family of Phoenix suffered more than most in this year of unfathomable losses. Three brothers perished in the pandemic: Jose in July, Heriberto in December and Gonzalo in February.
What Childhood Vaccine Rates Can, and Can’t, Teach Us About Covid Vaccines
Hesitancy toward routine childhood vaccines doesn’t necessarily predict hesitancy toward a covid shot.
Without a Pandemic Safety Net, Immigrants Living Illegally in US Fall Through the Cracks
Many undocumented immigrants are essential workers at high risk of exposure to the virus — and the pandemic’s economic crash — with no direct access to federal financial lifelines available to U.S. citizens.
Pandemic Aid Package Includes Relief From High Premiums
Experts say the two-year expansion of subsidies for most people who buy insurance through the government exchanges would be among the most significant changes to the affordability of private insurance since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Push Is On for States to Ban Organ Transplant Discrimination
States are passing laws that would prevent people with Down syndrome, autism and other disabilities from being denied transplants solely because of their conditions.
Rural Americans in Pharmacy Deserts Hurting for Covid Vaccines
Pharmacies are poised to start filling the gaps to vaccinate all of America against covid. Where does that leave people in rural counties that lack pharmacies?
States Aim to Chip Away at Abortion Rights With Supreme Court in Mind
Legislatures in conservative-leaning states across the country are pushing bills that would restrict abortion and, with a conservative Supreme Court in place, could erode abortion protections under Roe v. Wade.
Looking to Kentucky’s Past to Understand Montana Health Nominee’s Future
Montana’s pick for health director has garnered both praise and criticism for his past in Kentucky, where he sought to add work requirements to the state’s Medicaid program and was a top health official amid a hepatitis A outbreak.
Covid Vaccine Websites Violate Disability Laws, Create Inequity for the Blind
A KHN investigation found covid vaccine registration and information websites at the federal, state and local levels are flouting disability rights laws and limiting the ability of people who are blind or visually impaired to sign up for shots.
With GOP Back at Helm, Montana Renews Push to Sniff Out Welfare Fraud
Montana is one of the latest states looking to aggressively check welfare eligibility to cut costs. Supporters of such steps say it’s about what’s fair — weeding out those who don’t qualify for assistance — while opponents say it will cut loose enrollees who actually need help.
Covid Strikes Clergy as They Comfort Pandemic’s Sick and Dying
Spiritual leaders risk their own lives and health to tend to covid’s victims and their loved ones.
Spurred by Pandemic, Little Shell Tribe Fast-Tracks Its Health Service Debut
As the newest federally recognized tribe, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana is starting from scratch to deliver health care to members. While covid-19 has been devastating, it has sped up the tribe’s ability to build a clinic. Yet, lacking a reservation, the tribe faces challenges reaching its scattered members.
To Vaccinate Veterans, Health Care Workers Must Cross Mountains, Plains and Tundra
Veterans Affairs officials are flying COVID-19 vaccines to remote locations in Montana and Alaska to quickly inoculate rural veterans before the drugs expire.
