Category: children’s health

Montana Lawmakers Seek More Information About Governor’s HEART Fund

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s Healing and Ending Addiction Through Recovery and Treatment fund has spent $5.2 million since 2021. With a proposed increase, providers and lawmakers alike want to tap into the money.

A Baby Spent 36 Days in an In-Network NICU. Why Did the Hospital Next Door Send a Bill?

A baby spent more than a month in a Chicago NICU. A big bill revealed she was treated by out-of-network doctors from the children’s hospital next door. Her parents were charged despite a state law protecting patients from such out-of-network billing — and sent to collections when they didn’t pay up.

Unmet Needs: Critics Cite Failures in Health Care for Vulnerable Foster Children

More states are moving to specialized managed-care contracts solely to handle medical and behavioral services for foster kids. But child advocates, foster parents, and even state officials say these and other care arrangements are shortchanging foster kids’ health needs.

After a Brief Pandemic Reprieve, Rural Workers Return to Life Without Paid Leave

Coastal and politically progressive states have passed stronger paid sick and family leave policies, but many workers in rural America are left out, facing tough decisions when choosing between caring for themselves or sick family members or keeping their jobs.

Inside a Children’s Hospital: Struggling to Cope With a Surge of Respiratory Illness

Pediatric cases of RSV and flu have families crowding into ERs, as health systems juggle staff shortages. In Michigan, only 10 out of 130 hospitals have a pediatric ICU.

Hospital Financial Decisions Play a Role in the Critical Shortage of Pediatric Beds for RSV Patients

Yes, the U.S. is experiencing an unusual spate of childhood RSV infections. But the critical shortage of hospital beds to treat ailing children stems from structural problems in pediatric care that have been brewing for years.

Florida Leaders Misrepresented Research Before Ban on Gender-Affirming Care

The Florida policy backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis relies on one key statistic that many experts question.

Her Apartment Might Have Put Her Son’s Health at Risk. But ‘I Have Nowhere Else to Go.’

The United States is suffering from a severe shortage of affordable housing. But elected officials have done little to fix a problem that puts many Americans at greater risk for sickness and shortens lives.

Trickle of Covid Relief Funds Helps Fill Gaps in Rural Kids’ Mental Health Services

Only a sliver of the funding given to state, local, and tribal governments through the American Rescue Plan Act has been steered to mental health nationwide, but mental health advocates and clinicians hope the money it provides will help address gaps in care for children. In Appalachian Ohio, the funding is helping expand services.

Sick Profit: Investigating Private Equity’s Stealthy Takeover of Health Care Across Cities and Specialties

Private equity firms have shelled out almost $1 trillion to acquire nearly 8,000 health care businesses, in deals almost always hidden from federal regulators. The result: higher prices, lawsuits, and complaints about care.