Health Care
Some Republicans supported abortion ban exceptions. Activists made sure they failed.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending nearly 50 years of federal protection for abortion, some states began enforcing strict abortion bans while others became new havens for the procedure. ProPublica is investigating how sweeping changes to reproductive health care access in America are affecting people, institutions and governments. State Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt […]
Evolving overdose crisis shakes previously effective treatments
BURLINGTON, Vermont — “You can’t inject a horse tranquilizer and think nothing bad is gonna happen” to you, said Ty Sears, 33, a longtime drug user now in recovery. Sears was referring to xylazine, a sedative used for animal surgeries that has infiltrated the illicit drug supply across the country, contributing to a steady climb […]
Anti-abortion groups shrug off election losses, look to courts, statehouses for path forward
Anti-abortion groups are firing off a warning shot for 2024: We’re not going anywhere. Their leaders say they’re undeterred by recent election setbacks and plan to plow ahead on what they’ve done for years, including working through state legislatures, federal agencies, and federal courts to outlaw abortion. And at least one prominent anti-abortion group is […]
New Tulane study connects abortion, maternal health care access with birth outcomes
NEW ORLEANS — A study published last week by Tulane University researchers found that people living in areas lacking both abortion and maternity health care were more likely to give birth prematurely than those with more reproductive health services. While previous studies have documented adverse birth outcomes for those who live far from abortion clinics […]
The ‘doctor of nursing practice’ will see you now
When Vernon Langford sees patients, he typically wears a white lab coat with his title — “Dr.” — and his credentials as a nurse practitioner stitched on the front. “My credentials are on any jackets I have, the shirts I wear. If I have a name tag, it’s on that,” said Langford, who works as […]
VA veterans crisis line to face new investigation by congressional watchdog agency
WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office plans to investigate multiple whistleblower allegations of “gross mismanagement” at the Department of Veterans Affairs veterans crisis line, following a request from Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, States Newsroom has learned. Moran, ranking member on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, sent a letter to the VA secretary this week […]
Underdiagnosed and undertreated, young Black males with ADHD get left behind
As a kid, Wesley Jackson Wade should have been set up to succeed. His father was a novelist and corporate sales director and his mother was a special education teacher. But Wade said he struggled through school even though he was an exceptional writer and communicator. He played the class clown when he wasn’t feeling […]
Veterans’ health care coverage expanded by Biden administration
Ahead of Veterans Day, Biden administration officials said Friday the Department of Veterans Affairs will expand health care coverage for certain groups of veterans and their families and create new programs meant to make care more accessible. The VA will make coverage of certain toxic burn pit-related conditions available sooner than anticipated. Family members of […]
Higher Medicaid reimbursements, midwives could improve Louisiana maternal death rate, expert says
Louisiana may be able to improve its dire outcomes for pregnant people if the state raised its Medicaid reimbursement rate for live births and boosts its number of nurse midwives, a leading expert on maternal mortality said Wednesday. Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell is a New Orleans gynecologist and co-director of the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative with […]
Jeff Landry puts formerly indicted Louisiana health secretary on advisory council
Gov.-elect Jeff Landry has selected a former Louisiana health secretary charged by a state grand jury with lying under oath to serve on his Health Care and Hospitals Council. Bruce Greenstein is one of 28 members on the advisory panel expected to make policy recommendations to the incoming governor over the next two months. Landry’s […]
Most Americans want health exceptions in abortion bans. Political infighting keeps blocking them.
In early October, an Idaho woman 20 weeks into her pregnancy went to the emergency room after her water broke about five months early. When the water breaks prematurely, an infection can develop and infect the fetus, placenta and other fluids. At that stage of pregnancy, the threat of infection becomes a ticking clock for […]
VA reports major uptick in veterans’ care after passage of toxic exposure law
WASHINGTON — Veterans’ care in the United States set all-time records in fiscal year 2023, “shattering” the agency’s performance in previous years, in large part because of an expansion of benefits under the Biden administration, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough said Monday. McDonough spoke at the National Press Club less than a week […]