Latest Morning Briefing Stories

The Deep Divide: State Borders Create Medicaid Haves And Have-Nots

KFF Health News Original

State borders can highlight Medicaid’s arbitrary coverage. On the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, low-income people struggle with untreated health issues. But on the Illinois side, people in similar straits can get health care because their state expanded its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.

States Target Vaping With Bans. In California, The Action Is Local.

KFF Health News Original

Several states have adopted bans on vaping products, but California isn’t going that far. Instead, cities and counties in the Golden State are stepping in to prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco products within their jurisdictions — or ban the sale of e-cigarettes altogether.

Listen: Five Oklahoma Hospitals Collapsed – What Happened?

KFF Health News Original

KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber joined StateImpact Oklahoma reporter Jackie Fortiér to discuss why a series of rural hospitals collapsed, leaving hundreds of residents without jobs and their communities without lifesaving emergency medical care.

Meet The Health Officials Who Alerted The World To The Alarming Vaping Illness

KFF Health News Original

Without the teamwork, communication and quick action of several veteran health officials in Wisconsin, the world might not know about the vaping illness the U.S. is battling today. This is their story.

Want To Reduce Suicides? Follow The Data — To Medical Offices, Motels And Even Animal Shelters

KFF Health News Original

An Oregon epidemiologist is using data to find patterns in suicides, then offering prevention training at the motels where people keep taking their lives, the animal shelter where they give away their pets, the pain clinics where patients struggle. Her model is spreading to New York, California and elsewhere.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Tennessee Seeks Medicaid Changes

KFF Health News Original

Tennessee wants to convert its Medicaid program to a block grant. But is its plan legal? Meanwhile, Congress continues to struggle with legislation to rein in prescription drug prices and surprise medical bills. This week, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Jennifer Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Rovner also interviews Dr. Marty Makary, author of the new book “The Price We Pay” about why health care costs so much.