A researcher’s quest to make end-of-life care more equitable for Black Americans
The four months of care Annie Mae Bullock received for her stage 4 lung cancer were rocky at best. But the final three days of that care, her daughter Karen Bullock said, were excellent. Annie Mae spent those few days in hospice care at home surrounded by loved ones singing, chanting and praying as she […]
Tightening abortion laws reignite conversation around a permanent Child Tax Credit
INDIANAPOLIS — Maxine Thomas got her first Child Tax Credit payment in the spring of 2021. She was skeptical, like it was too good to be true. “I really didn’t think I was going to get it for some reason,” she said. Thomas is a single mom of five children. She works full time at […]
How effective are different policies at fighting medical debt? A researcher weighs in
LOS ANGELES — Wes Yin says it’s impossible to study health care these days without coming across the issue of medical debt. “There’s a lot of people who are struggling,” said Yin, an associate professor of economics at UCLA and one of the nation’s leading researchers on medical debt. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2022/11/medicaldebt-2way.mp3 Listen to this story here. […]
A SCOTUS case that started in a nursing home could have far-reaching implications for millions
VALPARAISO, Ind. — When Susie Talevski sued the agency that managed her elderly father’s care before he died, she hoped to get justice for her family. She did not expect the case would balloon into what it is today. A ruling against her could strip millions of vulnerable Americans of their power to hold states […]
How a major Medicare change could help seniors with high drug costs
OGDEN DUNES, Ind. — Multiple sclerosis was a one-two punch to Therese Humphrey Ball’s life. She had to deal with the disease – and the cost to treat it. Symptoms like loss of vision and weakness in her legs forced the 68-year-old former nurse from Indiana to retire early, and high drug costs forced her […]
Barred from Medicaid, some pregnant immigrants have few options for care
DES MOINES, Ia. — Last spring, two pregnant women who had recently arrived from Myanmar showed up at Abigail Sui’s home in Des Moines, Iowa. They needed help finding prenatal care. Sui, a program director for EMBARC, an Iowa-based nonprofit that supports immigrants, figured she could help these women navigate the health care system. “Because […]
Workers are fleeing long-term care. Could better career opportunities help?
SAN FRANCISCO — Serena Maria warmly remembers the first older person she took care of. “Her name was Liberty Bell, and she was born on [the] Fourth of July and she was the sweetest thing,” Maria said. Listen to this story here. For about a year, Maria would go to the nonegenarian’s home in Southern […]
How COVID reignited turf wars among doctors, nurses and other health workers
Who is allowed to care for patients? And when, where and how can they do it? Those questions have been the focus of more than 450 bills and 200 executive orders introduced in state capitols since COVID-19 hit. “This is the wild west,” said Bianca Frogner, director of the University of Washington Center for Health […]
The challenge of finding abortion care when laws can change day to day
LOUISVILLE, Kent. — At the Kentucky Health Justice Network, calls have doubled over the past several months – up to 50 a week. The organization advocates for abortion access and provides financial support and guidance to people seeking care. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2022/10/abortionaccess-feature-web.mp3 Listen to this story here. Director Erin Smith said lately, the organization has been focused […]
One state’s plan to push low-income health insurance beyond traditional health care
SACRAMENTO, Ca. — Jacey Cooper is the director of Medicaid in California, and she’s never been afraid of big challenges. She commuted two hours each way from Bakersfield to Los Angeles to complete her senior year at the University of Southern California after giving birth to twins. Just a few years later, at 27, she […]
Why pediatricians are worried about the end of the federal COVID emergency declaration
https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2022/09/kidsmedicaid-feature-web.mp3 Kathreen Friend is a pediatric registered nurse based in Doniphan, Missouri — a small town of about 1,800, just 15 minutes north of the Arkansas border. As the lone pediatric specialist in her county, it’s not unusual for her days to fill up with appointments. “I see a large volume of kids every single […]
To understand the real toll of gun violence, look to survivors and their families
INDIANAPOLIS — When DeAndra Yates-Dycus got a phone call that her seventh grader was shot, she rushed to the hospital, frantic, hoping she wouldn’t be asked to identify a body. The sheriff met Yates-Dycus and told her that 13-year-old Dre “did not do anything wrong. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong […]
Helping sickle cell patients starts with collecting better data
FORT WORTH, Tex. — Monica Brown is used to hearing people say she looks young for her age. She’s 41, but feels decades older – mainly because of her struggle with sickle cell disease, a genetic disorder that affects her blood. “People say, ‘Oh you look so good,’ but they do not know what’s going […]
Marketplace plans deny in-network claims more than you might think
The rate of uninsured Americans has been declining, thanks to the Affordable Care Act and expansion of Medicaid in many states. But a recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that having health insurance doesn’t always mean the care you need will be covered, even if that care is provided in-network. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2022/08/insurancedenials-2way-web.mp3 Listen to […]
Long COVID patients join a chronic illness community seeking answers
Tanya Hovey came down with COVID in April 2020. Before the infection, she ran a photography business, was active in her church, loved to garden and cycled several times a week. She was never hospitalized for COVID and thought she was recovering. But her symptoms kept coming back. She would feel fine for two or […]
