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Nonprofit hospitals avoid paying taxes if they provide community benefits such as charity care. More states are examining that trade-off, scrutinizing the extent of hospitals’ spending on their communities.
Programs in the so-called troubled teen industry will be required to provide a 24-hour hotline and unmonitored video calls with family and be subject to more inspections under a new Montana law.
Though most California counties are experimenting with dispatching health professionals rather than law enforcement to respond to people experiencing mental health crises, powerful police unions fear defunding.
In a new report, Human Rights Watch urges stronger federal and state action to hold hospitals to account for a medical debt crisis that now burdens more than 100 million Americans.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra is asking states to make more of an effort to keep eligible Medicaid recipients enrolled. He particularly fears children losing health insurance coverage.
Colorado’s new Prescription Drug Affordability Board could cap what health plans and consumers pay for certain medications starting next year. The process will pit patient groups against one another.
Democratic politicians in California and Oregon are reconsidering the restrictions of involuntary commitment laws. They argue that not helping people who are seriously ill and living in squalor on the streets is inhumane.
A group of former professional athletes traveled to Jamaica to try psychedelics as a way to help cope with the aftereffects of concussions and a career of body-pounding injuries. Will this still largely untested treatment work?
Billions of dollars are headed to state and local governments to address the opioid crisis. Policy experts and advocates expect the federal government to play a role in overseeing the use of the money. Failure to do so, they say, could lead to wasted opportunities. And, since Medicaid helps pay health care costs, the feds could have a claim to portions of states’ opioid settlements.
Persistent fatigue — the feeling of having no energy — can contribute to frailty and affects 40% to 74% of older patients with chronic illness. Yet its causes can be elusive.
The federal government wants to change the way health insurers use prior authorization — the requirement that patients get permission before undergoing treatment. Designed to prevent doctors from deploying expensive, ineffectual procedures, prior authorization has become a confusing maze that denies or delays care, burdens physicians with paperwork, and perpetuates racial disparities. New rules may not be enough to solve the problems.
Washington state regulators found formaldehyde, lead, and arsenic in lipstick, powder foundations, skin lotions, and hair products marketed to and popular with women of color. Now legislators there are seeking to ban the products and, like at least a dozen other states, make up for lax federal rules.
Missouri and Montana are the only states without distracted driving laws for all drivers. With traffic fatalities rising significantly nationwide, some Missouri lawmakers and advocates for roadway safety are eyeing bills in the new legislative session that would crack down on texting while driving in the Show Me State.
States are trying to reach millions of Medicaid enrollees to make sure those still eligible remain covered and help others find new health insurance.
Yes, the U.S. is experiencing an unusual spate of childhood RSV infections. But the critical shortage of hospital beds to treat ailing children stems from structural problems in pediatric care that have been brewing for years.
New U.S. Census Bureau data shows a large segment of Californians are working from home for part or all of the week. Researchers say the shift will ripple through the broader economy in ways big and small.
Oregon has become the first state to allow kids to stay in the government health care program from birth to age 6, no matter if their household income changes. California, Washington, and New Mexico are pursuing similar policies.
Colorado, Florida, and Idaho are the latest states to opt out of a survey that tracks concerning behaviors in high school students. Officials cite low participation and state laws that require parental permission. But some advocates say dwindling state participation is an “enormous loss” that will make it harder to track signs of poor mental health — like drug and alcohol misuse and suicidal ideation — among teens.
Veterans Affairs’ electronic health records aren’t friendly to blind- and low-vision users, whether they’re patients or employees. It’s a microcosm of America’s health care system.
The good, the bad, and the unknown about the Centennial State’s proposal to decriminalize and regulate magic mushrooms and plant-based psychedelics.
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