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Federal efforts to revive uranium mining in the West and decrease reliance on Russian uranium are raising concerns about drinking water for tribal communities reckoning with the industry’s deadly legacy.
Hospitals and other medical providers are increasingly asking for payment before providing care, collecting more of what patients might owe as rising insurance deductibles add to Americans' financial pressures.
Conservatives who have long pushed for Medicaid work requirements often said vulnerable people would get a pass. But the federal government’s list of exemptions left off homeless people.
Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝Ň•îl Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Last year, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge by dozens of insurers to improve prior authorization, which often requires patients to seek approval before treatments. But prior authorization remains commonplace, and there's no evidence the government is trying to hold insurers to account.
California’s laws still leave extradition decisions related to reproductive rights and gender-affirming care to its governor. But as states with abortion bans target California physicians who prescribe abortion pills across state lines, Democrats want to lock in protections for doctors, no matter who the next governor is.
Republicans say California’s use of Medicaid money for social services amounts to waste, fraud, and abuse. But even as Gov. Gavin Newsom voices concern about losing funding, he says he’s proud of the state’s holistic approach to caring for its sickest and most expensive patients.
Thousands of people who had a Medicare drug plan with zero-dollar premiums last year got small premium increases this year — and didn’t know it. They were dropped from their coverage for failing to pay amounts as little as $8, and most can’t get it again until 2027.
Medicare is testing the use of artificial intelligence to preapprove several healthcare services. Federal health officials say prior authorization can help reduce fraud and contain costs. But doctors and patients describe the trial as “horrendous” and full of red tape so far.
Measles has been spreading in Utah for nearly a year, straining hospitals, schools, and parents. The state’s outbreak provides a glimpse into a new era in America’s health, in which vaccine-preventable diseases become common again.
Several rural communities were thrust into a charged national debate over the Trump administration’s mass deportation strategy when federal officials sought to place new detention centers in them. In Social Circle, Georgia, locals fear the effort will overburden its modest healthcare infrastructure.
Last spring, a woman started exhibiting unusual memory problems after a hike in Arizona. It turns out she was experiencing a disorder called transient global amnesia. She has fully recovered, but a dispute over nearly $60,000 in hospital charges has been a source of stress for over a year.
Congress' decision not to extend enhanced marketplace tax credits has boosted the appeal of alternative health coverage with lower monthly premiums. Consumer advocates dismiss the plans as "junk insurance,” while proponents say patients need alternatives to pricey marketplace options.
A $50 billion federal fund is supposed to modernize rural health with electronic health records, AI, telehealth, and more. But community clinics and rural health advocates fear that the contractors administering the money for states will bite off a big chunk before it reaches rural patients.
With shortages of medical professionals and an aging population, thousands of community healthcare workers prevent older adults from falling through the cracks.
With high demand for mental health care, a wave of artificial intelligence-powered chatbots are being marketed as therapy apps — with little evidence they work and few regulations.
Starting next year, about 18.5 million adults will be subject to new Medicaid work rules in 42 states and Washington, D.C. Applicants must show they’ve been working for at least a month before receiving benefits. Some Republican-controlled states want to triple the required work period.
This week, the CDC began to publish long-awaited data that will reveal the extent of measles’ comeback. While applauding the science, researchers say the Trump administration has done little to contain the virus. “That we’re even talking about this is nuts,” one virologist said.
After Eric Tennant died, his widow vowed to speak out against West Virginia’s Public Employees Insurance Agency, which had denied cancer treatment recommended by Tennant’s doctor. Her efforts paid off. In March, West Virginia’s governor signed a bill to protect some patients from harm tied to prior authorization.
Trump administration officials say the state allows rampant fraud and have promised to investigate, blaming the “Russian, Armenian mafia” in the hospice and home health care industry. But data shows hotbeds of health care fraud throughout the country, with California outperforming most other states in recovering fraud dollars.
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