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Federal law says Medicaid must cover out-of-state emergency care. But a Florida man got a five-figure bill after a South Dakota hospital declined to charge his state’s Medicaid program.
More than 100 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies since 2021, including a South Dakota hospital that serves small towns, farming communities, and a Native American reservation. Patients there now travel at least an hour to give birth.
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Federal funding cuts, though temporarily blocked by a judge, have upended vaccination clinics across the country, including in Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, and Washington state, amid a rise in vaccine hesitancy and a resurgence of measles.
Some rural hospitals have canceled — or are considering ending — contracts with insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans, saying the private policies jeopardize their finances and impede patient care.
Amid doctor shortages, several states have stopped requiring foreign-trained providers to repeat residencies before they’re fully licensed. Critics say patients could be harmed because of the loosened training requirements.
Federal law says Native Americans aren’t liable for medical bills the Indian Health Service promises to pay. Some are billed anyway as a result of backlogs or mistakes from the agency, financial middlemen, or health systems.
Community health workers are increasingly common in rural areas, where they help patients overcome barriers to accessing care and staying healthy.
Small-town doctors may not offer IUDs and hormonal implants because the devices require training to administer and are expensive to stock.
The Indian Health Service has a program that can pay for outside appointments when patients need care not offered at agency-funded sites. Critics say money shortages, complex rules, and administrative fumbles often block access, however.
Even as part of a popular South Dakota tourist attraction, an independent pharmacy serving locals, remote ranchers, and sightseers struggles with staffing and insurer payments.
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.
Social services, such as parenting classes and economic development programs, can help increase the life spans of Native Americans, some health experts say. But insurers don’t always cover these services.
A 25-year-old state Supreme Court ruling protects abortion rights in conservative Montana. That hasn’t stopped Republicans and anti-abortion advocates from trying to institute a ban.
South Dakota allows doctors to terminate a pregnancy only if a patient’s life is in jeopardy. Lawmakers say a government-created video would clarify what that exception actually means.
A rural South Dakota medic said using an ambulance video system to communicate with a doctor gave him peace of mind as he treated a patient who was seriously injured when gored by a bison.
Native Americans and rural residents are underrepresented in medical schools. But in this new program, 25% of students are Indigenous and half are from rural areas.
A breast cancer patient who received similar treatments in two states saw significant differences in cost, illuminating how care in remote areas can come with a stiffer price tag.
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