Courts Archives - Page 2 of 37 - �鶹Ů�� Health News

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Iowa Doesn’t Have Enough OB-GYNs. The State’s Abortion Ban Might Be Making It Worse.

Abortion bans like Iowa’s have put OB-GYNs under increasing strain and surveillance, complicating the standard medical treatments for miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, premature membrane rupture, and other pregnancy problems. As many rural areas face worsening maternity care deserts, some physicians fear these laws could drive much-needed doctors out of state and dissuade others from moving in and establishing a practice.

By Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio

Jan. 5, 2026

A photo of a Black woman standing by water. She holds a framed photo of her deceased mother.

The Body Shops

Advertisements Promising Patients a ‘Dream Body’ With Minimal Risk Get Little Scrutiny

While federal officials say they are cracking down on misleading drug ads, cosmetic surgery remains a “buyer beware” market.

By Fred Schulte

Dec. 31, 2025

Surgery tools sit in the foreground as surgeons work in the background

The Body Shops

After Outpatient Cosmetic Surgery, They Wound Up in the Hospital or Alone at a Recovery House

Some patients who had liposuction or other surgeries later required emergency hospital care — and some died, court records show.

By Fred Schulte

Dec. 23, 2025

A vector illustration of a hand holding a phone with a credit score on the screen. A white outline of the the United States on a gray background is behind the hand and phone.

States Advance Medical Debt Protections as Federal Support Turns to Opposition

Federal officials reversed their stance on medical debt credit reporting, then came a lawsuit in Colorado. As lawmakers in other states forge ahead with attempts to protect consumers from medical debt, some are reconsidering how they go about it.

By Rae Ellen Bichell

Dec. 19, 2025

A red sign says "Genesis Uptown Rehabilitation Center"

Broken Rehab

Judge in Nursing Home Bankruptcy Case Gives Families Fresh Hope of Compensation for Injuries, Deaths

Genesis HealthCare’s controlling investor, Joel Landau, had sought to rebuy the nursing homes while gaining protection from settlement payments over allegations of poor care. A judge rejected the proposal and ordered a new auction. A �鶹Ů�� Health News investigation found Genesis settled hundreds of lawsuits but didn’t pay them out fully.

By Jordan Rau

Dec. 19, 2025

The view from a nearby hill of a city at the edge of a river and a bridge spanning that river.

Oregon Hospital Races To Build a Tsunami Shelter as FEMA Fights To Cut Its Funding

Columbia Memorial Hospital near Oregon’s coastline planned to add a tsunami shelter, counting on a FEMA grant. After the Trump administration cut the funding, hospital officials are building anyway, saying waiting is too risky. A judge ruled Dec. 11 that the administration unlawfully ended the program without congressional approval.

By Hannah Norman and Daniel Chang

Dec. 17, 2025

A young child in a wheelchair plays in a sidewalk with his mother to his left and his father to his right.

Disability Rights Lawyers Threatened With Budget Cuts, Reassignments

The Trump administration wants deep funding cuts for state-based legal services for disabled people, as rights advocates say the Justice Department pushed out many of its lawyers who worked on such issues.

By Tony Leys

Dec. 16, 2025

A man wearing a black hat and glasses stands with his arm around a woman with long, dark hair and wearing glasses

Broken Rehab

How Delays and Bankruptcy Let a Nursing Home Chain Avoid Paying Settlements for Injuries and Deaths

Genesis HealthCare’s bankruptcy case in Dallas will allow the nursing home chain to avoid paying millions of dollars it promised for residents who were injured or died while in its care. Families say bankruptcy nullifies one of the main ways to hold nursing home owners accountable for poor care.

By Jordan Rau

Dec. 9, 2025

What the Health? From �鶹Ů�� Health News

The GOP Circles the Wagons on ACA

Episode 423

Nov. 20, 2025

Republicans are solidifying their opposition to extending pandemic-era subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans and seem to be coalescing around giving money directly to consumers to spend on health care. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to leave his mark on the agency, with the CDC altering its website to suggest childhood vaccines could play a role in causing autism. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join �鶹Ů�� Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Avik Roy.

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A photo showing Mehmet Oz sitting at a table in a court room.

Complaints About Gaps in Medicare Advantage Networks Are Common. Federal Enforcement Is Rare.

Health systems drop out of Medicare Advantage plans all the time. Yet government documents obtained by �鶹Ů�� Health News show that federal regulators rarely warn plans that their networks of health providers are so skimpy they violate legal requirements.

By Susan Jaffe

Nov. 20, 2025

Wielding Obscure Budget Tools, Trump’s ‘Reaper’ Vought Sows Turmoil in Public Health

Through shrouded bureaucratic maneuvers, White House budget director Russell Vought and DOGE have quietly upended outbreak response, HIV treatment, and dementia care in communities across America.

By Amy Maxmen

Nov. 7, 2025

What the Health? From �鶹Ů�� Health News

Happy Open Enrollment Eve!

Episode 420

Oct. 30, 2025

A standoff in Congress is keeping much of the government shut down as open enrollment begins in most states for Affordable Care Act plans. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend ACA tax credits, but there has been little negotiating — even as customers are learning what they’ll pay for coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is telling states they can’t pass their own laws to keep medical debt off consumers’ credit reports. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join �鶹Ů�� Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.

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A photo of a woman in a medical office filling out a form.

The Quiet Collapse of America’s Reproductive Health Safety Net

The HHS office that administers the Title X family planning program has been effectively shut down. And with cuts to federal funding for other family health programs, expected Medicaid cuts, and the potential lapse of ACA subsidies, health leaders fear they are seeing the biggest setback to U.S. reproductive care in half a century.

By Céline Gounder

Oct. 30, 2025

Four people are in frame walking past a sign with white lettering on a red background reading "Emergency Entrance" and "Emergency Department Chest Pain Center" each with arrows pointing right. One person carries a handwritten sign that reads "Keep ICE Out of Hospitals."

California Faces Limits as It Directs Health Facilities To Push Back on Immigration Raids

California now has a law requiring hospitals and clinics to improve patient privacy and have clear protocols for handling requests by immigration agents. Legal experts say the state can’t fully protect immigrant patients, because federal authorities are allowed in public places, including hospital lobbies, general waiting areas, and parking lots.

By Claudia Boyd-Barrett

Oct. 30, 2025

What the Health? From �鶹Ů�� Health News

Schrödinger’s Government Shutdown

Episode 418

Oct. 16, 2025

Democrats and Republicans remain stalled over funding the federal government as Republicans launch a new attack on the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking advantage of the shutdown to lay off workers from programs supported mostly by Democrats. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join �鶹Ů�� Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health insurance analyst Louise Norris about Medicare open enrollment.

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What the Health? From �鶹Ů�� Health News

Starting To Feel the Shutdown’s Bite

Episode 417

Oct. 9, 2025

The government shutdown continues with no end in sight, and while it theoretically should not affect entitlement programs, the lapse of some related authorizations — like for Medicare telehealth programs — is leaving some doctors and patients high and dry. Meanwhile, the FDA quietly approved a new generic abortion pill. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join �鶹Ů�� Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sarah Grusin of the National Health Law Program.

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Diagnosis: Debt

Workers’ Wages Siphoned To Pay Medical Bills, Despite Consumer Protections

Health care providers and debt collectors are biting from people’s paychecks to cover old medical bills. A �鶹Ů�� Health News investigation in Colorado shows that this aggressive collection practice is widespread even in a state considered to have strong consumer protections.

By Rae Ellen Bichell

Oct. 2, 2025

A portrait of a woman leaning against a glass balcony. Her semi-transparent reflection is visible in the right half of the image.

The Body Shops

Doctors With Troubled Pasts Are Performing Cosmetic Surgeries Tied to Crippling Pain and Injury

Some injured patients say they wish they had tried harder to check the backgrounds of doctors and clinics they trusted, but those records are hard to find.

By Fred Schulte

Sept. 30, 2025

A close up photograph of a gloved hand making markings on a person's face in preparation for cosmetic surgery.

The Body Shops

How To Pick the Right Cosmetic Surgeon

While surgeons argue over who gets the best results, patients may struggle to make sense of credentials.

By Fred Schulte

Sept. 30, 2025

What the Health? From �鶹Ů�� Health News

Public Health Further Politicized Under the Threat of More Firings

Episode 415

Sept. 25, 2025

In a rambling news conference that shocked public health experts, President Donald Trump — without scientific evidence — blamed the over-the-counter drug acetaminophen, and too many childhood vaccines, for the increase in autism diagnoses in the U.S. That came days after a key immunization advisory panel, newly reconstituted with vaccine doubters, changed several long-standing recommendations. Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official Demetre Daskalakis joins �鶹Ů�� Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories. Meanwhile, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join Rovner with the rest of the news, including a threat by the Trump administration to fire rather than furlough federal workers if Congress fails to fund the government beyond the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year.

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