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States are taking aim at chemicals and additives in foods as Republicans and Democrats alike embrace at least one aspect of the Trump administrationās āMake America Healthy Againā push. Itās a shift for Republicans, who had vilified past Democratic efforts to impose government will on what people eat and drink.
North Carolina and Idaho are cutting their Medicaid programs to bridge budget gaps, raising fears that providers will stop taking patients and that hospitals will close even before the brunt of a new federal tax-and-budget law takes effect.
As states prepare to implement changes to Medicaid required by President Donald Trumpās recent tax-and-spending law, tribal leaders say they are concerned Native American enrollees could lose their coverage, despite exemptions made by Congress.
Some doctors and the groups that represent them say physiciansā extensive training leads to better emergency care, and that some hospitals are trying to save money by not hiring them. They support new laws in Indiana, Virginia, and South Carolina that require physicians to be on-site 24/7.
In this video report, InvestigateTV and Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News take viewers to Alabama, Idaho, and West Virginia to explore how gaps in internet connectivity and telehealth access cause residents to live sicker and die younger on average than their peers in well-connected regions.
More than a dozen states are seeking their own versions of Medicaid work requirements. But the incoming federal standards pose questions around how much leeway states have to design their rules.
Native American groups declare that tribal sovereignty trumps state and federal efforts to restrict or ban gender-affirming care for two-spirit and LGBTQ+ tribal citizens. Tribes are analyzing the risk of opposing Trumpās policies, advocates say.
The Trump administration has said improving American nutrition is a priority, but deep cuts to federal food assistance could lead people to forgo healthy food in favor of cheaper alternatives.
In 2017, when President Donald Trump tried to repeal Obamacare and roll back Medicaid coverage, Republican governors helped turn Congress against it. Now, as Trump tries again to scale back Medicaid, Republican governors ā whose constituents stand to lose federal funding and health coverage ā have gone quiet on the health consequences.
Republicans, on the hunt for spending cuts, are eyeing a special kind of Medicaid tax that nearly every state uses to boost funding for hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers.
The Trump administrationās āMake America Healthy Againā platform has boosted the agenda of a conservative think tank thatās been working for more than a decade to reshape the nationās public assistance programs.
Food banks nationwide are being pinched by record demand, high food prices, and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal budget cuts. As the economy plods onto shaky ground, food bank leaders hope Congress patches the holes by passing a new farm bill.
Enrollment of underrepresented groups at medical schools fell precipitously this academic year after the Supreme Courtās 2023 ban on affirmative action. Education and health experts worry the Trump administrationās anti-DEI measures will only worsen the situation, even in states like California that have navigated bans on race-conscious admissions for years.
Republicans have proposed legislation in several states to ban the pioneering technology used in covid shots. Many doctors worry a huge medical advance could be rolled back.
Amid doctor shortages, several states have stopped requiring foreign-trained providers to repeat residencies before theyāre fully licensed. Critics say patients could be harmed because of the loosened training requirements.
Congressional Republicans are pushing plans that could make deep cuts to Medicaid to finance President Donald Trumpās tax cuts and other priorities. At stake is coverage for millions of low-income Americans, as well as a huge revenue source for hospitals ā and every state.
In several red states, officials say few or no abortions happened in 2023, raising alarm among researchers about the politicization of vital statistics.
Health leaders say a tool to boost medical coverage for Native Americans, a population that has long faced worse health outcomes than the rest of the nation, has been underused by many states and tribes since it was written into the Affordable Care Act more than a decade ago.
Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia ā states with some of the worst health outcomes ā also have some of the highest childhood vaccination rates. But doctors and health officials worry a rising tide of vaccine skepticism is causing those public health bright spots to dim.
A legislative effort to expand access to prenatal care in rural Oregon with mobile clinics was scuttled because those clinics would have provided abortions in rural areas. Opposition to the proposal shows that, even in states that ensure access to abortions, that care isnāt universally available or accepted.
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