Health officials expect a measles outbreak in West Texas to exceed 100 cases because of low vaccination rates and undetected infections. Vaccine misinformation and new laws may make such situations more common and harder to contain.
Category: states
An Ice Rink To Fight Opioid Crisis: Drug-Free Fun vs. Misuse of Settlement Cash
A decision about how to spend settlement funds in Carter County, Kentucky, which was hit hard by the opioid epidemic, offers a window into the choices that surround this windfall.
Deny and Delay? California Seeks Penalties for Insurers That Repeatedly Get It Wrong
A state lawmaker wants health insurers to disclose denial rates and explain those denials as anger grows over rising costs and uncovered medical care. If the bill is signed into law, health experts say, it could be one of the boldest attempts in the nation to rein in denials.
Iowa Medicaid Sends $4M Bills to Two Families Grieving Deaths of Loved Ones With Disabilities
States are required to claw back health care costs from the estates of many Medicaid recipients. Some, including Iowa, are particularly aggressive in their pursuit.
Pain Clinics Made Millions From ‘Unnecessary’ Injections Into ‘Human Pin Cushions’
Pain MD, which once ran as many as 20 clinics across three states, gave chronic-pain patients about 700,000 total injections near their spines, according to court documents. Last year, federal prosecutors proved at trial that the shots were medically unnecessary and part of an extensive fraud scheme.
As States Mull Medicaid Work Requirements, Two Scale Theirs Back
As Republicans consider adding work requirements to Medicaid, Georgia and Arkansas — two states with experience running such programs — want to scale back the key parts supporters have argued encourage employment and personal responsibility.
Montana Looks To Regulate Prior Authorization as Patients, Providers Decry Obstacles to Care
Patients and providers say health insurers’ preapproval requirements lead to delays and denials of needed medical treatments. Insurers argue that prior authorization keeps costs down.
Top California Democrats Clash Over How To Rein In Drug Industry Middlemen
Frustrated by spiraling drug costs, California lawmakers want to increase oversight of pharmaceutical industry intermediaries known as pharmacy benefit managers. It’s unclear whether they can persuade Gov. Gavin Newsom to get on board.
Republican States Claim Zero Abortions. A Red-State Doctor Calls That ‘Ludicrous.’
In several red states, officials say few or no abortions happened in 2023, raising alarm among researchers about the politicization of vital statistics.
A Year After Super Bowl Parade Shooting, Trauma Freeze Gives Way to Turmoil for Survivors
Survivors and witnesses of gun violence often freeze emotionally at first, as a coping mechanism. As the one-year mark since the parade shooting nears, the last installment in our series “The Injured” looks at how some survivors talk about resilience, while others are desperately trying to hang on.
