New Medicaid Coverage for Transgender Illinoians
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services will soon allow gender confirmation surgery to be covered by Medicaid. That procedure, most…
Struggling for Housing
In the course of reporting my previous story on the gap between wages and the cost of housing, I spent time following a case manager with the Southern…
How Can Indiana Support New Moms And Babies? State Health Commissioner Weighs In
Panelists at Side Effects Public Media’s two-part Happier Birth Days conversation answered viewer questions about maternal and infant health disparities…
For Black Women, Access To Birth Control Comes With Heavy Baggage
Some doctors see access to birth control as a tool in the fight to decrease maternal and infant mortality. Indiana has one of the nation’s worst rates…
‘If You Build It, They Will Come’: Saving Pollinator Habitat With Solar Power’s Help
From bees to butterflies , a worldwide decline in pollinators has entomologists trying to figure out how to help those bugs and the plants that rely on…
For Low Wage Workers Housing Is Out Of Reach
An estimated 10,643 people in Illinois are homeless according to federal data. Many of those are working – but still can’t make ends meet. For the…
Illinois lawmakers may regulate midwives in home births
A small but growing number of U.S. women are choosing to have their babies at home. In more than 30 states, including most of the Midwest, it’s
Trump Administration’s Refugee Limits Leave Meatpacking Plants Struggling To Find Enough Workers
Like many of the refugees who have resettled in Greeley, Colorado, 35-year-old Abul Basar is employed by JBS. It’s a massive meatpacking plant that…
How One Illinois Nonprofit Supports New Mothers, Promotes Safe Sleep
Across much of the Midwest, maternal and infant death rates are high—especially among African-Americans. So doctors, public health agencies and non…
Fentanyl Can Lead To Overdoses In Hospitals, Too
Experts often blame the painkiller fentanyl for skyrocketing overdose deaths among illegal drug users. Now a series of deaths at an Ohio hospital is…
Farmers Dig Deep To Weather Slumping Ag Economy, But Don’t Call It A Crisis
Farm income has taken a long, hard fall, dropping 50 percent since hitting a high point in 2013. Add to that near-record levels of farm debt, and you…
Illinois Bill Aims To Help Children Get Mental Health Services
An Illinois Senate bill aims to help children who are at risk of entering state custody because of issues caused by untreated mental illness. The…
As Type 1 Diabetics Struggle To Afford Insulin, Eli Lilly Announces A Cheaper Alternative
Insulin is not a new drug, but even though it’s been around for nearly a century, its price continues to climb. People with Type 1 Diabetes have to take…
Illinois Gets A Break: New Tax Credit Could Boost Local Housing, Economies, But There’s a Catch
The Quad Cities are divided by the Mississippi River along the Illinois-Iowa border. They all took a big hit during the 1980’s farm crisis, and were…
