Hospitals gear up for a Hill fight over proposed pay cuts in Medicare
Many common outpatient services, like X-rays and check-ups, can cost Medicare twice as much in a hospital as in an independent clinic. Congress is actively considering nearly half a dozen pieces of legislation aimed at changing this. All of this bipartisan interest in Washington has the nation’s biggest hospitals on high alert. The proposed fix, […]
Most states ensure women don’t lose Medicaid shortly after pregnancy. Missouri may join them
Since Black women are overrepresented in the Medicaid population, they’re more likely to lose coverage after 60 days in states that have not extended postpartum Medicaid coverage.
Legal abortions in the U.S. dropped 6% after Roe fell, despite an uptick in some states
Some days, the phones at the Trust Women Wichita clinic ring nonstop, and staff are unable to keep up. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal protections for abortion last summer, the clinic has had a math problem: too many patients desperate for care with limited time and resources to see them. “We are averaging […]
Medicare’s hospice experiment: Putting private insurers in charge
Hospice doctor Bethany Snider sees the writing on the wall: “The hospice care we’ve known and loved won’t be the same 10 years from now.” Hosparus Health, the Louisville-based hospice agency where Snider serves as chief medical officer, is one of more than 100 provider organizations partnering with some of the country’s largest health insurers […]
AEDs could save lives — but stocking them in schools isn’t easy
Jake West grew up in La Porte, Indiana, not far from Lake Michigan. His mother, Julie West, said he was always friendly to others. “He was just kind and he brought other people in,” West said. “He was a type of kid that if someone wasn’t included, he was going to make sure that child […]
A hospital went dark after it was hacked. It’s still reeling two years later
As the second year of the pandemic was nearing an end, employees at Johnson Memorial Health hoped they could catch their breath after dealing with a weeks-long tsunami of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. But on a Friday at 3 a.m., the hospital CEO’s phone rang with an urgent call from the chief of nursing. “I […]
Who really benefits when damages are capped in medical malpractice lawsuits?
On Feb. 17, 2017, Joe and Sarah Dudley were getting ready for a late Valentine’s Day celebration when Joe started complaining about feeling sick. He had a bad headache. “So I told him to go lay down, and we’d just celebrate another time,” Sarah said. Shortly after, Joe started running a high fever – […]
States are turning to Medicaid to help people leaving incarceration
Lee Reed spent his first night after getting out of prison sleeping in the stairwell of a parking garage in downtown San Francisco. Just a few days shy of his 62nd birthday, Reed had nowhere else to go. During his two decades in prison, his mom and wife had died, and he’d lost touch with […]
Evictions on the rise in the Midwest put public health at risk
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The trouble for Rolland Carroll started last fall. That’s when the 61-year-old said his apartment complex in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, informed him that his federal housing aid for his one-bedroom apartment had been reduced months ago. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2023/02/sfx-evictions-krebs.mp3 Listen to this story here. He owed more than $2,000 in back rent. “I […]
Three health policy stories to watch in 2023
Considering the country’s divided Congress, Americans shouldn’t hold their breath for major health reform legislation this year. On the other hand, 2023 is shaping up to see some incredibly consequential health policy changes that could impact millions. Here’s a quick look at three of them: State officials are looking to pass new abortion laws and […]
If the antibiotics shortage worsens, children with sickle cell risk preventable deaths
INDIANAPOLIS — Mary Warlo has been extremely worried lately. Her baby Calieb, who is six months old, has sickle cell disease. In early December he went for a few days without liquid penicillin, a medication that he – and thousands of other children in the U.S. – rely on to prevent potentially life threatening infections. […]
When rural hospitals close, access to critical care is put in jeopardy
MEXICO, Mo. — A half-dozen Gouldian finches greet patients with their chirps from a cage in the waiting room of the Boone Health Primary Care clinic in Mexico, Missouri. The birds belong to Dr. Peggy Barjenbruch who, alongside Dr. Michael Quinlan, has served the Mexico community for decades. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2022/12/ruralhospitalaccess-feature-se-web.mp3 Listen to this story here. That […]
Hospitals look to storytelling to reduce stigma toward people with addiction
Belle Smith was using heroin a few years ago and didn’t have access to a clean syringe. A needle broke in her arm and caused an infection. Smith went to a nearby hospital in South Carolina, where she said staff refused to give her anesthesia and opted to use a local numbing agent while they […]
Abortion access, COVID disruptions, health inequities – Side Effects’ top stories of 2022
The third year of a global pandemic. An uncertain future for reproductive health care. Persistent health care inequities. This year, Side Effects Public Media reporters delivered high-impact, in-depth stories from across the Midwest and beyond, exploring 2022’s leading health concerns. Side Effects reporters and collaborators shed light on health care disparities, looked for solutions and […]
States will get billions in opioid settlement dollars. How will they spend it?
Legal battles have waged for years to force drug companies to pay for their role in America’s opioid epidemic. Finally, in landmark settlements over the last year, thousands of states, counties and local governments have won more than $50 billion from opioid makers, prescription drug distributors and pharmacies. But now these 3,000 state and local […]
