Family planning clinics are getting caught between state abortion bans and a federal requirement to refer patients for abortion care on request.
Category: Public Health
Why brain eating amoeba infections are climbing in northern states
Increasing temperatures are creating the perfect environment for the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri to thrive in. Northern U.S. states including Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota have seen infections from the bacteria climb, causing public healt…
When an Anti-Vaccine Activist Runs for President
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s official entry into the presidential race poses a thorny challenge for journalists: how to cover a candidate who’s opposed to vaccines without amplifying misinformation. And South Carolina becomes the latest state in the South to ban abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani about her project to track the billions of dollars coming from opioid makers to settle lawsuits.
CDC monitoring 200+ people for fungal meningitis
The CDC is monitoring more than 200 U.S. patients who may be at risk for fungal meningitis likely tied to surgical procedures they underwent at clinics in a Mexico border city, according to a May 25 update from AP.
NJ hospitals see 40% rise in patients admitted with 'major' and 'extreme' illness
More than 40 percent of people who seek medical care at New Jersey hospitals are presenting with “major” or “extreme” levels of illness, according to a May 24 New Jersey Hospital Association report, which noted the highest levels of severe illness were…
HIV dropped 12% thanks to this demographic: 7 notes
The CDC found HIV infections declined 12 percent between 2017 and 2021, and the decline was driven by young people.
Abortion Bans Are Driving Off Doctors and Closing Clinics, Putting Basic Health Care at Risk
Doctors say they are reluctant to practice in abortion-banned states, where making the best decision for a patient could run afoul of the law. Even former President Donald Trump’s surgeon general is concerned about the repercussions for women’s health, writes KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner.
As Water Levels Drop, the Risk of Arsenic Poisoning Rises
As the West grapples with a megadrought, its driest spell in at least 1,200 years, rising levels of arsenic — a known carcinogen — in Colorado’s San Luis Valley offer clues to what the future may hold.
Washington patient who refuses TB treatment was spotted on public transportation despite court no-show
The woman at the center of an ongoing civil case in Washington state — who is infected with tuberculosis and has repeatedly refused both isolation and treatment — failed to appear in court again on May 19, according to Pierce County Superior Court docu…
Small, Rural Communities Have Become Abortion Access Battlegrounds
After local leaders in rural Nevada reached an impasse over a proposed Planned Parenthood clinic, an anti-abortion activist pitching local abortion bans across the U.S. arrived at their remote City Hall.
