Court rulings supercharge Illinois’ strongest-in-nation biometric privacy law
Law’s critics want to reopen debate, but backers say law is working as intended
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States are turning to Medicaid to help people leaving incarceration
Lee Reed spent his first night after getting out of prison sleeping in the stairwell of a parking garage in downtown San Francisco. Just a few days shy of his 62nd birthday, Reed had nowhere else to go. During his two decades in prison, his mom and wife had died, and he’d lost touch with…
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Illinois governor lays out a roadmap for a ‘transformed’ youth mental health care system
CHICAGO — Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday released a blueprint for transforming what the state acknowledges is a confusing patchwork system for families who need greater access to mental health care for their children at a moment of overwhelming need both in Illinois and across the country. The current fragmented system, compounded by a workforce…
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COVID federal funding will expire. How are schools investing in student mental health for the long term?
LA MOILLE — Students in the La Moille School District don’t have a full-time school social worker or psychologist. For tiny, rural districts like La Moille — which has only 170 students — that’s not unusual. Rural schools are much less likely to offer mental health services than urban and suburban schools. 37% of high…
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Indiana lawmakers advance ban on all gender-affirming care
An Indiana bill that would ban all gender-affirming care for minors, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, passed the state Senate public health committee 8-3.
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Community in uproar after board votes to temporarily close Wiley Elementary for asbestos abatement
URBANA – The Urbana School District 116 school board received significant backlash at its February 21 board meeting after voting to close Wiley Elementary School this coming summer to fix its asbestos problem. People gathered en masse dressed in red Wiley attire to speak out against this decision. Many spoke during the citizens comments…
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New law allows Illinoisans to change sex on birth certificate without doctor’s affirmation
Illinois becomes 12th state, 1st in Midwest, to allow self-attestation
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Illinois physician writes children’s book on how to be a first responder
The idea for “Ava Saves The Day” occurred to Breyanna Grays while working with stroke and heart attack patients in emergency rooms.
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On Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, advocates spotlight ongoing racial disparities
Call for greater investment in Black-led treatment organizations.
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Approaching ‘Medicaid cliff’ could leave hundreds of thousands uninsured
Pandemic-era program will expire on March 31.
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Evictions on the rise in the Midwest put public health at risk
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The trouble for Rolland Carroll started last fall. That’s when the 61-year-old said his apartment complex in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, informed him that his federal housing aid for his one-bedroom apartment had been reduced months ago. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2023/02/sfx-evictions-krebs.mp3 Listen to this story here. He owed more than $2,000 in back rent. “I…
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A new Champaign clinic will focus on equity in abortion care
CHAMPAIGN – The Supreme Court ruling in June overturning Roe v. Wade did away with federal protections for abortion rights. The decision returned the power to ban the procedure to states, rendering the country a patchwork of different abortion laws. Listen to this story here. In Illinois, abortion remains legal. But the procedure is banned…
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Illinois’ COVID-19 disaster proclamation to end in May
State emergency orders will end in tandem with national public health emergency
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‘Omnibus’ health care bill passed amid criticisms
Wide-ranging law put popular, controversial measures into a single package.
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Three health policy stories to watch in 2023
Considering the country’s divided Congress, Americans shouldn’t hold their breath for major health reform legislation this year. On the other hand, 2023 is shaping up to see some incredibly consequential health policy changes that could impact millions. Here’s a quick look at three of them: State officials are looking to pass new abortion laws and…
