Mental Health Care by Video Fills Gaps in Rural Nursing Homes
In-person mental health care is hard to arrange in rural nursing homes, so video chats with faraway professionals are filling the gap.
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In-person mental health care is hard to arrange in rural nursing homes, so video chats with faraway professionals are filling the gap.
A U.S. District Court case is being widely followed because the judgeâs decision could overturn the FDAâs approval of mifepristone two decades ago. With abortion rights polling well even in red states, anti-abortion activists are increasingly turning to the courts to achieve their aims.
Missouri is considering making it a felony to jack up temporary health care staffing prices during a statewide or national emergency. Itâs one of at least 14 states looking to reel in travel nurse costs, after many hospitals struggled to pay for needed staffers earlier in the covid pandemic.
In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for prescribing opioids for pain, allowing physicians more flexibility. But doctors, patients, and advocates wonder if the updated standards will be too little, too late to help chronic pain patients in a country still focused on fighting the ongoing opioid crisis.
Very little in the proposed budget released by the Biden administration is likely to become law, particularly with Republicans in charge of the U.S. House. Still, the document is an important statement of the presidentâs policy priorities, and itâs clear health programs are among those he feels are important. Meanwhile, five women who were denied abortions when their pregnancies threatened their lives are suing Texas. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Harris Meyer, who reported and wrote the two latest KHN-NPR âBill of the Monthâ features. Both were about families facing unexpected bills following childbirth.
A Donald Trump-appointed federal judge agreed that even the possibility that the fatherâs daughters might access contraception without his permission violated the tenants of his Christian faith.
While Medicare was designed as health insurance for those 65 and older, it also covers people with disabilities who are young enough to still get pregnant. Yet they often struggle to get their birth control covered and end up with large medical bills â or instead opt for hysterectomies or tubal ligations, which Medicare sometimes will cover.
Hospitals in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma are among the first to apply for a new rural hospital payment model that shifts the focus of services away from overnight stays to outpatient and emergency care. Still, experts say the law needs to be amended to provide the right mix of care for rural communities.
President Joe Biden and Republicans in Congress spent last month sparring over whether to shield Medicare and Social Security from budget cuts â leading some to wonder if Medicaid was on the table instead. Biden and Democrats say no, but some Republicans seem eager to trim federal spending on the health program for Americans with low incomes. And ready or not, artificial intelligence is coming to medical care. Benefits, as well as unintended consequences, are likely. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of STAT News, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KHNâs chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more.
Mayor Eric Adamsâ announcement this year to provide abortion pills free of charge at four of New Yorkâs sexual health clinics is the cityâs latest move on abortion access. Other jurisdictions are also taking steps.
âWhat happens in Texas doesn't stay in Texas,â warns an abortion rights advocate bracing for a district judgeâs ruling on whether the abortion pill mifepristone was properly authorized by the FDA. His decision could force the medication off the U.S. market.
Washington state regulators found formaldehyde, lead, and arsenic in lipstick, powder foundations, skin lotions, and hair products marketed to and popular with women of color. Now legislators there are seeking to ban the products and, like at least a dozen other states, make up for lax federal rules.
The First Step Act was supposed to help free terminally ill and aging federal inmates who pose little or no threat to public safety. But while petitions for compassionate release skyrocketed during the pandemic, judges denied most requests.
After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2020, Rodney Boblitt's job was to patrol a 14-mile stretch of coastline in the Florida Panhandle looking for signs of oil washing ashore. Today, the 54-year-old is among thousands of other cleanup workers who are experiencing health issues and suing BP. But proving their health conditions were caused by the oil has been challenging.
Hundreds of physicians came to Washington this week to lobby Congress about their ârecovery planâ for physicians, which includes a Medicare pay boost and an end to some frustrating insurance company requirements.
Responding to covid has taken so much attention and energy that some public health workers believe it pushed tuberculosis off peopleâs radar.
Private equity groups are cashing in on rising rates of alcohol and drug addiction in the U.S. But they arenât necessarily investing in centers with the best treatment standards, and they often cut extra services.
Abortion is a top issue for state lawmakers meeting for their first full sessions since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
While some doctors seem eager for a huge payoff, others are warily watching what happens when private equity firms take charge of orthopedic practices.
Top negotiators in Congress have agreed to a framework for government spending into next year, but there are details to iron out before a vote â such as the scheduled Medicare payment cuts that have providers worried. Also, the Biden administration reopens its program allowing Americans to request free covid-19 home tests, as hopes for pandemic preparedness measures from Congress dim. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rebecca Adams of KHN join KHNâs Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
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