Category: NPR

Patients in ‘trigger law’ states reorient after access to abortion care halts

Robin Marty, operations director of the West Alabama Women’s Center, talks about the patients who just missed their chance to receive abortions in Alabama, where the ban went into effect immediately.

Polio found in U.K. for the first time in nearly 40 years. Here’s what it means

Scientists in Britain have detected multiple versions of the virus in wastewater. Officials say the risk to the public is extremely low and urge people to ensure their polio vaccines are up to date.

Tens of millions of Americans are making painful sacrifices due to health care debt

More than a 100 million people in the U.S. are burdened by medical debt. An investigation by NPR and Kaiser Health shows the painful sacrifices many are making to pay their medical and dental bills.

COVID vaccines are finally here for young kids. But the logistics aren’t easy

NPR talks to Claire Hannan, who has helped navigate vaccine rollouts in all 50 states, about some of the challenges involved in quickly getting shots out to millions of young kids.

North Carolina considers new laws to ‘de-weaponize’ medical debt and protect patients

Medical debt can ruin lives, and in many states patients have few financial protections. North Carolina is considering a new law that could lead the way in shielding patients from high medical bills.

A secret abortion shaped the rest of these two sisters’ lives

Two sisters in Tennessee each got pregnant when they were young. The paths they took and the secrets they kept have shaped their lives.

The Midwest and South could see larger abortion deserts if Roe v. Wade is overturned

About a quarter of clinics that offer abortions would shut down if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Those closures would be concentrated in the Midwest and South where abortion services are already scarce.

Sick and struggling to pay, 100 million people in the U.S. live with medical debt

The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.

Medical debt upended their lives. Here’s what it took from them

First, they were struck by illness and then by medical bills they couldn’t pay. Here are seven stories of Americans living under the shadow of health care debt.

‘1619 Project’ journalist lays bare why Black Americans ‘live sicker and die quicker’

Linda Villarosa says bias in the health care system and the “weathering” affect of living in a racist society are taking a serious toll on African Americans. Her new book is Under the Skin.