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After detecting a sudden spike in PFAS in its drinking water, the city traced it upstream along the Ohio River to a factory in West Virginia. But the EPA has relaxed Biden-era plans to regulate PFAS levels. So what happens next?
Tribal insurance programs give Native Americans access to affordable health care when the Indian Health Service falls short. Those plans are threatened by the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.
At a January event organized by allies of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., National Cancer Institute Director Anthony Letai said results may be released 鈥渋n a few months.鈥 Ivermectin, used to deworm horses and other animals, has become a symbol of resistance against the medical establishment among supporters of Kennedy鈥檚 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again鈥 agenda and many conservatives.
The Trump administration鈥檚 move to give deportation officials access to Medicaid data is forcing hospitals and states to consider alerting immigrant patients that information from emergency medical coverage applications could be used in efforts to remove them from the country.
Progressives are assailing Gov. Gavin Newsom for proposing to pull back coverage for some legal residents, such as refugees and asylum-seekers, while conservatives lambaste the California Democrat for using limited state funds on Medicaid coverage for immigrants without legal status.
Prenatal care can make a huge difference to the long-term health of both the parent and baby. Every state offers health coverage to lower-income pregnant women who might otherwise go uninsured.
A Wisconsin retiree with glaucoma needed her eyes examined. Her Medicare Advantage plan from UnitedHealthcare listed her optometrist鈥檚 clinic as in-network, but she learned the hard way that a clinic can be in-network and out-of-network at the same time.
Some hospitals are registering patients detained by federal immigration officers under pseudonyms and prohibiting staff from contacting family members. Attorneys and health care workers say the practices facilitate rights violations and create ethical concerns. Hospitals say they鈥檙e trying to protect patients.
Two Trump administration regulatory rollbacks affect nursing home staffing and home care workers, and a new AI experiment in Medicare has alarmed eldercare advocates and congressional Democrats.
More than a quarter of the agricultural workforce purchases health insurance through the individual marketplace, a much larger share than the overall percentage of U.S. adults. After a tough year for farmers, the loss of enhanced ACA subsidies is putting health insurance out of reach for many.
The government is using sickle cell treatments to test a new strategy: paying only if the therapies benefit patients. With more expensive treatments on the horizon, the program 鈥 created by the Biden administration and continued under President Trump 鈥 could help Medicaid save money and treat more patients.
Native American women face higher rates of death than other demographics. In response, Native Americans have been working with state and federal officials to boost tribal participation and leadership in maternal mortality review committees to better track and address pregnancy-related deaths.
Every state will receive at least $100 million annually from the federal Rural Health Transformation fund, but some scored millions more based on how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services judged the 鈥渜uality鈥 of their plans and willingness to pass policies embracing "Make America Healthy Again" initiatives.
A proposed abortion ban in South Carolina would have allowed the criminal prosecution of women who obtain the procedure. It鈥檚 unlikely to become law, but this bill and other proposals across the country show how some conservative lawmakers are embracing increasingly punitive abortion restrictions.
Low-income Californians who use Wegovy and similar medications for weight loss lost their coverage at the start of the new year, with officials advising diet and exercise instead. California and other states say the drugs are too costly, even as the Trump administration announces plans to lower prices.
Paid home care is buckling under the surging demands of an aging population. But there are alternatives that could upgrade jobs and improve patient care.
Abortion bans like Iowa鈥檚 have put OB-GYNs under increasing strain and surveillance, complicating the standard medical treatments for miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, premature membrane rupture, and other pregnancy problems. As many rural areas face worsening maternity care deserts, some physicians fear these laws could drive much-needed doctors out of state and dissuade others from moving in and establishing a practice.
While federal officials say they are cracking down on misleading drug ads, cosmetic surgery remains a 鈥渂uyer beware鈥 market.
States facing yawning budget shortfalls have begun cutting Medicaid reimbursements for a wide variety of services. In some states, dramatic cuts are targeting therapies that many families of autistic people say are essential to caring for their loved ones.
Some patients who had liposuction or other surgeries later required emergency hospital care 鈥 and some died, court records show.
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