Category: states

Pandemic Funding Is Running Out for Community Health Workers

Illinois used federal pandemic money to hire community health workers who connect people with food banks and rental assistance programs, just like public health officials have long hoped to do. What will happen to the community trust that has been built up when the federal money runs out and the workers disappear?

Tennessee Offers to Expand Dental Schools as Medicaid Coverage Stretches Need

As states expand Medicaid’s dental benefits, they’re running up against a shortage of dentists willing to work on those patients, especially in rural communities. So Tennessee is helping dental schools expand and offering to pay off student loans for those who work in high-need areas.

Delays for Autism Diagnosis and Treatment Grew Even Longer During the Pandemic

Despite increased public awareness, research advances, and wider insurance coverage for autism therapies, children often wait months — in some cases more than a year — to get an autism diagnosis and begin intervention services. The waits can be longer for Black and Latino children, and families in rural areas are also disadvantaged, without access to providers.

Covid and Schizophrenia: Why This Deadly Mix Can Deepen Knowledge of the Brain Disease

Recent studies from around the world have found that people with schizophrenia are as much as five times as likely to die from covid-19 as the general population. Scientists think the findings suggest schizophrenia is not just a disease of the brain, but also a disease of the immune system.

Colorado Doubles Down on Abortion Rights as Other States — And the High Court — Reconsider

The Supreme Court is expected to overturn or weaken “Roe v. Wade.” If that happens, Colorado may become an abortion-access island, nearly surrounded by a sea of anti-abortion states. The state is bracing for impact, and advocates are trying to shore up its abortion defenses.

At a Tennessee Crossroads, Two Pharmacies, a Monkey, and Millions of Pills

Prosecutors say opioid-seeking patients drove hours to get their prescriptions filled in Celina, Tennessee, where pharmacies ignored signs of substance misuse and paid cash — or “monkey bucks” — to keep customers coming back.

Big Pharma Is Betting on Bigger Political Ambitions From Sen. Tim Scott

The South Carolina senator led the congressional pack in pharma campaign contributions for the second half of 2021. There are clear reasons.

Climate Change May Push the US Toward the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ for West Nile Virus

Colorado recently recorded the most West Nile virus deaths and cases of neuroinvasive infections in nearly two decades. Scientists warn that climate change will make conditions ripe for more West Nile transmission.

Nurse Convicted of Neglect and Negligent Homicide for Fatal Drug Error

RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, could spend years in prison after being convicted of two felonies in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday.

Senators Ask GAO to Examine Medicaid’s Low Covid Vaccination Rates

Sens. Robert Casey Jr. and Ron Wyden want a probe into what barriers are keeping Medicaid plans from reaching enrollees.