A three-digit mental health crisis line launches Saturday with the ambitious goals of reducing emergency department visits and encounters with law enforcement and providing ongoing care for those experiencing mental health crises. But in many states, aspirations are a way off from being a reality. People seeking help will be able to text or call 988 to contact trained counselors […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. The Supreme Court’s decision overturning the federal constitutional right to abortion has left confusion in its wake. State abortion laws are in constant flux, patients and providers are unsure what services are […]
As of this week, federal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that 78% of the total population in the United States have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. While vaccination coverage increased in the first half of 2022, vaccination and booster uptake has leveled off and remains uneven across the country. As […]
California Sen. Scott Wiener (D) said the city of San Francisco is veering toward a public health crisis due to the uncontrolled spread of the monkeypox virus in a statement Thursday. The city’s Department of Public Health tweeted Wednesday that its walk-in clinic will close for the remainder of the week due to the vaccine shortage. Other city clinics are […]
A new KFF analysis finds that hundreds of thousands of people are disenrolled from Medicaid each year after giving birth, which could be prevented if all states were to take up a new option to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months. The estimate – based on analysis of Medicaid claims data from 2018 – finds that 610,000 postpartum women […]
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) says he will be looking into the licensure of the physician who provided abortion services to a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim who made national headlines after she travelled out-of-state to receive the procedure. Caitlin Bernard, an Indiana obstetrician-gynecologist, publicly shared earlier this month in an interview published by the The Indianapolis Star that she […]
In West Texas, the tiny hospital in Crosbyton has only two beds, and they’re not always occupied. “We rarely admit patients,” said Steve Beck, chief executive of the hospital, which is 40 miles east of Lubbock and serves a town of about 1,500 residents. The hospital has trouble keeping staff, and “we’re lacking in technology and expertise,” he said. And […]
HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital in Panama City, Fla., an affiliate of HCA Florida Healthcare, has started construction on the new HCA Florida Breakfast Point SM Emergency in Panama City Beach. The 11,000 square-foot, one-story emergency department (ED) will house 11 exam rooms, as well as CT scan, general X-ray, and on-site laboratory services. The $11 million project is scheduled […]
Here I am, yet again, writing about the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed rule for the home health care industry. But it’s no small deal. Advocates were in Washington, D.C., this week to desperately argue on behalf of the industry that the rule was unfair. In doing that, they displayed the nuts and bolts of the […]
Dive Brief: Molina Healthcare said Wednesday that it has agreed to pay $150 million to acquire My Choice Wisconsin, continuing the Long Beach, California-based insurer’s acquisition streak. The Wisconsin firm is a Medicaid managed care organization with more than 44,000 members across the state. My Choice Wisconsin generated premium revenue of $1 billion during the 12 months […]