How can you tell if a product has toxic PFAS? Lack of labeling laws make it hard for consumers
PFAS have been found in all kinds of non-stick, waterproof and stain-resistant products — from pans, to carpets to fast-food wrappers.
Report finds more than half of rural hospitals no longer deliver babies
A new report found a growing number of rural hospitals no longer have labor and delivery services. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform analyzed federal data and found, as of last month, 55% of the nation’s rural hospitals no longer have obstetric care, and of the rural hospitals still providing care, one-third were…
As more rural hospitals stop delivering babies, some are determined to make it work
At a time when many rural hospitals continue to make the tough choice to shutter their obstetrics units and stop delivering babies, Iowa Specialty Hospital’s OB unit is thriving. Jenn Mewes steps around construction equipment into Iowa Specialty’s brand new labor and delivery room in Clarion, Iowa. The new room is equipped with a bathtub,…
The feds sent letters to 44 states to fix SNAP application errors and inefficiencies
The majority of states are not processing food assistance applications on time and making too many payment errors, according to the federal government. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a letter to the governors of 44 states earlier this month that are failing to meet federal standards when it comes to processing applications…
Are schools prepared to respond if a student’s heart stops? Data shows some aren’t
A 56-year-old football official went into cardiac arrest on the sideline at Jefferson High School in Lafayette in 2006. Then, a teenager who was playing basketball during lunch at the school’s Tecumseh Junior High gym went into cardiac arrest a decade later. Both were in the Lafayette School Corporation. Both survived. The district’s preparation for…
5 Ways America’s courts could change health care in 2024
Health care policy experts are keeping close tabs on the courts in 2024. Judges are poised to weigh in on health policies — new ones, like Medicare’s power to negotiate drug prices, and old ones, like the Affordable Care Act’s insurance rules. The ramifications of these decisions, some on politically charged issues such as abortion…
Why are people afraid of the most popular opioid addiction treatment?
Buprenorphine saved Eric Ezzi. Heroin had overrun the Philadelphia-area native’s life in his early 20s. He lost jobs, went to jail and burned bridges with his family. A few years into his addiction, Ezzi found what he hoped would be the ultimate solution: buprenorphine. Often known by the brand name Suboxone, buprenorphine is a medication…
Some Midwest states earn failing grades in tobacco prevention and cessation efforts: ALA report
The American Lung Association released its 2024 State of Tobacco Control report Wednesday, which evaluates state efforts to eliminate tobacco use. Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Iowa and Ohio scored failing grades in most categories. The report compares state policies to evidence-based practices known to prevent youth from using tobacco and help smokers quit. It looks at…
Medicaid unwinding is causing people with disabilities to lose coverage with devastating consequence
Since the pandemic-era freeze on Medicaid disenrollment ended this spring, millions across the country –– including eligible recipients –– have lost their coverage for administrative reasons. Paperwork errors, system glitches, long wait times and outdated notices are kicking people off the rolls and vexing those caught up in the process. For people with disabilities, the…
Some states with abortion bans saw slightly more births, new analysis finds
Abortion bans may have led to an increase in birth rates in some states, a new report suggests. Three university researchers closely analyzed 13 states that prohibited abortion in nearly all situations by the end of 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated a federal right to abortion. The IZA Institute of Labor Economics published…
Your college student is back home and you want to talk mental health? Keep this mind
Mental health experts say the holidays provide an opportunity for parents to check in on their children’s psychological wellbeing as thousands of college students are back home. “This is an important time of year because you’re going to be spending more time with your kids,” Rhonda Randall, UnitedHealthcare’s chief medical officer, said. Having conversations about…
New federal requirements aim to fix chronically understaffed nursing homes
At the Prairie View skilled nursing home in Sanborn, Iowa, the cafeteria was noisy on a recent Thursday. But not far from the sounds of conversation among dozens of residents is a unit that sits quiet and empty. Wendy Nelson, Prairie View’s administrator, used a code on a keypad to enter into what used to…
Losing sleep over binge watching shows and online shopping? New survey finds 75% of U.S. adults do
More than three-fourths of Americans lose sleep because of digital distractions, according to a new survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Experts say that can be harmful for people’s health. More than 90% of the adults surveyed said they have lost sleep due to binge watching television and 75% said they have lost…
Sickle cell experts say a cure without care jeopardizes the freedom promised by new gene therapies
Two new, cutting-edge cures for sickle cell disease, a debilitating genetic blood disorder, have been approved on Friday. The sickle cell community is cautiously hopeful as questions around access and comprehensive care loom large. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Exa-cel, also known by its commercial name Casgevy. It’s a gene-editing therapy that uses…
After Dobbs, doctors say more people are turning to permanent contraception
Sitting in the living room of her Cleveland home, 30-year-old Grace O’Malley reflects on when she ruled out having kids of her own. O’Malley has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic condition that weakens the body’s connective tissue, and can get much worse postpartum. About three years earlier, when she was in her mid-twenties, her condition worsened….