Mountain States Bureau Archives - Page 18 of 45

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

Alabama’s IVF Ruling Still Making Waves

Episode 336

Feb. 29, 2024

Lawmakers in Congress and state legislatures are scrambling to react to the ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos created for in vitro fertilization are legally children. Abortion opponents are divided among themselves, with some supporting full “personhood” for fertilized eggs, while others support IVF as a moral way to have children. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Riley Griffin of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health and Politico Magazine join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews University of Pittsburgh law professor Greer Donley, who explains how a 150-year-old anti-vice law that’s still on the books could be used to ban abortion nationwide. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.

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A photo of a sign that reads, "United States Environmental Protection Agency."

Toxic Gas That Sterilizes Medical Devices Prompts Safety Rule Update

The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening regulation of ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic gas used to sterilize medical devices. The agency is trying to balance the interests of the health care industry supply chain with those of communities where the gas creates airborne health risks.

By Andy Miller and Sam Whitehead

Feb. 29, 2024

A photo of signage on a paneled building directing people to separate gendered bathrooms.

Bathroom Bills Are Back — Broader and Stricter — In Several States

State lawmakers are resurrecting and expanding efforts to prohibit transgender people from using public restrooms and other spaces that match their gender. Some have sought to ban trans people from “sex-designated spaces,” including domestic violence shelters and crisis centers, which experts say could violate anti-discrimination laws and jeopardize federal funding.

By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez

Feb. 29, 2024

A photo of a man speaking to a therapist across from him, who is writing on a clipboard.

Health Care Workers Push for Their Own Confidential Mental Health Treatment

Montana may join about a dozen other states in creating “safe havens” that keep health care professionals from facing scrutiny from licensure boards for seeking mental health or addiction treatment.

By Katheryn Houghton

Feb. 22, 2024

A photo of a black man's hand with an IV in the top of his hand.

Death and Redemption in an American Prison

More than a quarter century after an inmate helped start a hospice program in one of the nation’s most notorious prisons, he is trying to spread the idea.

By Markian Hawryluk

Feb. 21, 2024

A woman with long dark hair and wearing a white doctor's coat stands in a hallway with arms by her side and looks at the camera.

The Powerful Constraints on Medical Care in Catholic Hospitals Across America

The expansion of Catholic hospitals nationwide leaves patients at the mercy of the church’s religious directives, which are often at odds with accepted medical standards.

By Rachana Pradhan and Hannah Recht

Feb. 17, 2024

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

Biden Wins Early Court Test for Medicare Drug Negotiations

Episode 334

Feb. 15, 2024

A federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit attempting to invalidate the Biden administration’s Medicare prescription-drug price negotiation program. But the suit turned on a technicality, and several more court challenges are in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health policy pops up in Super Bowl ads, as Congress approaches yet another funding deadline. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

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A photo of a laptop screen on GoFundMe's medical fundraising webpage. Text on the screen reads, "Get help with medical fundraising."

Perspective

GoFundMe Has Become a Health Care Utility

Resorting to crowdfunding to pay medical bills has become so routine, in some cases health professionals recommend it.

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

Feb. 12, 2024

Deadly Denials

States Target Health Insurers’ ‘Prior Authorization’ Red Tape

Doctors, patients, and hospitals have railed for years about the prior authorization processes that health insurers use to decide whether they’ll pay for patients’ drugs or medical procedures. The Biden administration announced a crackdown in January, but some state lawmakers are looking to go further.

By Bram Sable-Smith

Feb. 12, 2024

A photo of a doctor holding a clipboard in front of a patient labeled, "Health insurance claim form."

Halfway Through ‘Unwinding,’ Medicaid Enrollment Is Down About 10 Million

While more Medicaid beneficiaries have been purged in the span of a year than ever before, enrollment is on track to settle at pre-pandemic levels.

By Phil Galewitz

Feb. 7, 2024

A photo of agricultural workers in Colorado shot through a wooden fence.

Colorado Moves to Connect Agricultural Workers With Mental Health Resources

Advocates say two bills under consideration could help migrant communities but that more needs to be done.

By Vignesh Ramachandran

Feb. 7, 2024

The photo shows a person holding house keys in their left hand. They prepare to unlock the door in front of them.

Is Housing Health Care? State Medicaid Programs Increasingly Say ‘Yes’

States are using their Medicaid programs to offer poor and sick people housing services, such as paying six months’ rent or helping hunt for apartments. The trend comes in response to a growing homelessness epidemic, but experts caution this may not be the best use of limited health care money.

By Angela Hart

Feb. 6, 2024

��ýҕ�l Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Congressman Off-Base in Ad Claiming Fauci Shipped Covid to Montana Before the Pandemic

Facts don’t support claims by a likely Republican Senate candidate that a federal research laboratory in Montana infected bats with a coronavirus from China before the covid-19 outbreak.

By Katheryn Houghton

Feb. 5, 2024

Taliyah Murphy stands outside the Denver City and County Building. She rests her left hand on her left hip and looks into the distance.

Colorado Legal Settlement Would Up Care and Housing Standards for Trans Women Inmates

A soon-to-be-finalized legal settlement would offer transgender women in Colorado prisons new housing options, including a pipeline to the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. The change comes amid a growing number of lawsuits across the country aimed at improving health care access and safety for incarcerated trans people.

By Moe K. Clark

Feb. 2, 2024

A hunter, wearing a cap, leans over a newly killed buck in a grassland area

Possibility of Wildlife-to-Human Crossover Heightens Concern About Chronic Wasting Disease

A response is ramping up to a potential spillover of the neurological disease to humans from deer, elk, and other animals.

By Jim Robbins

Feb. 2, 2024

The Health 202

Is the Nation’s Primary Care Shortage as Bad as Federal Data Suggest?

By Rae Ellen Bichell

Feb. 1, 2024

A photograph of a woman using a smartphone as she sits next to an open suitcase on a bed. Her face is cropped out of view.

More ‘Navigators’ Are Helping Women Travel to Have Abortions

After the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal right to an abortion and many states banned the procedure, reproductive health care organizations hired dozens of people to help patients arrange travel and pay for care.

By Lillian Mongeau Hughes

Feb. 1, 2024

A photo of the exterior of Montana's Department of Health and Human Services.

Montana Vows Changes to Avoid Delayed Contracts. Some Health Providers Still Await Back Pay.

The head of Montana’s health department said the agency is catching up on a months-long backlog of contracts with organizations that connect people to medical care that left organizations without pay, halted some services, and triggered job cuts.

By Katheryn Houghton

Jan. 31, 2024

Primary Care Disrupted

Where Are the Nation’s Primary Care Providers? It’s Not an Easy Answer

Politicians keep talking about fixing primary care shortages. But flawed national data leaves big holes in how to evaluate which policies are effective.

By Rae Ellen Bichell

Jan. 30, 2024

A silhouette of a young man sitting outside. Behind him is a vivid sunset.

Native American Communities Have the Highest Suicide Rates, Yet Interventions Are Scarce

Native Americans die by suicide at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group, yet research into effective and culturally appropriate interventions is uncommon.

By Cheryl Platzman Weinstock

Jan. 25, 2024

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