Category: states

Colleges and Universities Plan for Normal-ish Campus Life in the Fall

Universities need full dorms and dining halls to make back some of the estimated $183 billion in losses they’ve suffered over a year of remote education. The hope is widespread vaccination will keep covid chaos to a minimum.

An Indie Artist’s Plea to Look Beyond Algorithms and Curated Playlists

The pandemic-induced lockdowns have only increased the demand for music-streaming services. This independent singer wrote, recorded and produced an album with musicians around the world during the pandemic’s rolling stay-at-home mandates.

Missouri ‘Voted for This Lie,’ Says State Rep Trying to Block Medicaid Expansion

Even with extra federal dollars and a flush budget, Show Me State Republicans are putting up roadblocks to the voter-approved constitutional amendment that would give 275,000 people health insurance.

For This Hospice Nurse, the Covid Shot Came Too Late

Antonio Espinoza, a hospice nurse in Southern California, ministered to terminally ill patients, including those with covid. He tested positive for covid five days after getting his first dose of vaccine and died a few weeks later.

Vermont Is 1st State to Give Blacks and Other Minority Residents Vaccine Priority

Covid cases have disproportionately affected the state’s Black residents, so officials are moving them to the front of the line for vaccinations before the state expands eligibility to all adults.

Despite Covid, Many Wealthy Hospitals Had a Banner Year With Federal Bailout

As the crisis crushed smaller providers, some of the nation’s richest health systems thrived, reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in surpluses after accepting huge grants for pandemic relief. But poorer hospitals — many serving rural and minority populations — got a smaller slice of the pie and limped through the year with deficits and a bleak fiscal future.

Montana Sticks to Its Patchwork Covid Vaccine Rollout as Eligibility Expands

Montana’s overstretched counties and tribal governments have developed a mishmash of policies and plans that require ingenuity and mutual support to work. A reporting project by KHN, Montana Free Press and the University of Montana School of Journalism finds the biggest test of that disparate system looms as vaccine eligibility expands. Plus: a county-by-county guide to vaccine availability in Montana.

Families With Sick Kids on Medicaid Seek Easier Access to Out-of-State Hospitals

Many state Medicaid programs pay out-of-state providers much less than in-state facilities, often making it hard for families with medically complex children to get the care they seek.

Battle Brews Over Neutral Zone Where Border-Crossing Parties Rendezvous, Risking Detection and Infection

Peace Arch Park on the U.S.-Canadian border has become a rare place where families and friends on either side of the border can see one another in person. But it raises questions on covid safety as the two countries handle the pandemic differently.

Beating the Pavement to Vaccinate the Underrepresented — And Protect Everyone

In poor neighborhoods and desert towns, community activists — some unpaid — are signing up hard-to-reach people for vaccination appointments. Experts say these campaigns are key to building the country’s immunological armor against new outbreaks.