The Nation鈥檚 911 System Is on the Brink of Its Own Emergency
911 outages have hit at least eight states this year. They鈥檙e emblematic of problems plaguing emergency response communications due in part to wide disparities in capabilities and funding.
Emergency Medicine
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SCOTUS Ruling Strips Power From Federal Health Agencies
Episode 353In what will certainly be remembered as a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has overruled a 40-year-old precedent that gave federal agencies, rather than judges, the power to interpret ambiguous laws passed by Congress. Administrative experts say the decision will dramatically change the way key health agencies do business. Also, the court decided not to decide whether a federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency care overrides Idaho鈥檚 near-total ban on abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
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Republicans Are Downplaying Abortion, but It Keeps Coming Up
Torn between a base that wants more restrictions on reproductive health care and a moderate majority that does not, it seems many Republicans would rather take an off-ramp than a victory lap when it comes to abortion. But they can鈥檛 escape talking about it.
By Julie Rovner -
$2 Million Disbursed to Victims and Community Groups in Wake of Super Bowl Mass Shooting
The United Way of Greater Kansas City gave $1.2 million to victims and $832,000 to 14 community groups Thursday, hoping to reach other victims from the violence at the Kansas City Chiefs鈥 Super Bowl parade, as well as those working to prevent gun violence.
By Peggy Lowe, KCUR and Bram Sable-Smith -
Closing of Rural Hospitals Leaves Towns With Unhealthy Real Estate
Dozens of small cities and towns across the United States struggle not just with health care access and the loss of jobs, but also with the burden of what to do with big, empty buildings.
By Taylor Sisk -
Super Bowl Parade Shooting Survivors Await Promised Donations While Bills Pile Up
Families of the people hurt during the Feb. 14 mass shooting are carrying what one expert calls 鈥渧ictimization debt.鈥 In the third story of our series 鈥淭he Injured,鈥 we learn about the strain of paying small and large medical bills and other out-of-pocket costs.
By Peggy Lowe, KCUR and Bram Sable-Smith -
Montana Creates Emergency 鈥楧rive-Thru鈥 Blood Pickup Service for Rural Ambulances
The network is aimed at helping rural patients, who face higher rates of traumatic injuries and death but may not live near a hospital with a stockpile of blood.
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Readers Issue Rx for Clogged ERs and Outrageous Out-of-Pocket Costs
吃瓜不打烊 gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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He Fell Ill on a Cruise. Before He Boarded the Rescue Boat, They Handed Him the Bill.
A man from Michigan was evacuated from a cruise ship after having seizures. First, he drained his bank account to pay his medical bills.
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Three People Shot at Super Bowl Parade Grapple With Bullets Left in Their Bodies
Despite the rise of gun violence in America, few medical guidelines exist on removing bullets from survivors鈥 bodies. In the second installment of our series 鈥淭he Injured,鈥 we meet three people shot at the Kansas City Super Bowl parade who are dealing with the bullets inside them in different ways.
By Bram Sable-Smith and Peggy Lowe, KCUR -
Stranded in the ER, Seniors Await Hospital Care and Suffer Avoidable Harm
Many older adults who need hospital care are getting stuck in emergency room limbo 鈥 sometimes for more than a day. The long ER waits for seniors who are frail, with multiple medical issues, lead to a host of additional medical problems.
Arizona Turns Back the Clock on Abortion Access
Episode 342A week after the Florida Supreme Court said the state could enforce an abortion ban passed in 2023, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that state could enforce a near-total ban passed in 1864 鈥 over a half-century before Arizona became a state. The move further scrambled the abortion issue for Republicans and posed an immediate quandary for former President Donald Trump, who has been seeking an elusive middle ground in the polarized debate. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Molly Castle Work, who reported and wrote the latest 吃瓜不打烊-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about an air-ambulance ride for an infant with RSV that his insurer deemed not medically necessary.
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Attacks on Emergency Room Workers Prompt Debate Over Tougher Penalties
In California, assaulting paramedics or other emergency medical workers in the field carries stiffer fines and jail time than assaulting emergency room staffers. State lawmakers are considering a measure that would standardize the penalties.
By Sejal Parekh -
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After Appalachian Hospitals Merged Into a Monopoly, Their ERs Slowed to a Crawl
Ballad Health was granted the nation鈥檚 largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in 2018. Since then, its emergency rooms have become more than three times as slow.
By Brett Kelman and Samantha Liss -
A Mom鈥檚 $97,000 Question: How Was Her Baby鈥檚 Air-Ambulance Ride Not Medically Necessary?
There are legal safeguards to protect patients from big bills like out-of-network air-ambulance rides. But insurers may not pay if they decide the ride wasn鈥檛 medically necessary.
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They Were Injured at the Super Bowl Parade. A Month Later, They Feel Forgotten.
In the first of our series 鈥淭he Injured,鈥 a Kansas family remembers Valentine鈥檚 Day as the beginning of panic attacks, life-altering trauma, and waking to nightmares of gunfire. Thrown into the spotlight by the shootings, they wonder how they will recover.
By Bram Sable-Smith and Peggy Lowe, KCUR -
Operating in the Red: Half of Rural Hospitals Lose Money, as Many Cut Services
A recent report finds half of America鈥檚 rural hospitals are losing money, and many are struggling to stay open. Researchers and advocates worry the hospitals鈥 financial spiral will have immediate and long-term health effects on their communities.
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Without Medicare Part B鈥檚 Shield, Patient鈥檚 Family Owes $81,000 for a Single Air-Ambulance Flight
Sky-high bills from air-ambulance providers have sparked complaints and federal action in recent years. But a rural Tennessee resident fell through the cracks of billing protections 鈥 and a single helicopter ride could cost much of her estate's value.
By Tony Leys