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Missed care, fewer patients: Rural families and clinics feel Medicaid cuts
Rural children and families are having to skip vital health treatments and even ending up in the emergency room, while already struggling rural clinics are losing more patients, as states cull their Medicaid rolls. The process began in April 2023, when pandemic-era rules that prohibited kicking people off Medicaid coverage expired and states again began […] The post Missed care, fewer patients: Rural families and clinics feel Medicaid cuts appeared first on Stateline.
Housing boom in most of the US could ease shortage, but cost is still a problem
Stateline coverage of how communities across the country are trying to create more affordable housing. The United States has added almost 5 million housing units since 2020, most heavily in the South and most of them single-family homes, making a housing shortage look conquerable in much of the nation. Still,...
As states loosen childhood vaccine requirements, health experts’ worries grow
Louisiana Republican state Rep. Kathy Edmonston believes no one ought to be required to vaccinate their children. So, she wants schools to proactively tell parents that it’s their right under Louisiana law to seek an exemption. “It’s not the vaccine itself, it is the mandate,” Edmonston told Stateline. “The law is the law. And it […] The post As states loosen childhood vaccine requirements, health experts’ worries grow appeared first on Stateline.
Medical residents are increasingly avoiding states with abortion restrictions
This story first appeared on KFF Health News. Isabella Rosario Blum was wrapping up medical school and considering residency programs to become a family practice physician when she got some frank advice: If she wanted to be trained to provide abortions, she shouldn’t stay in Arizona. Blum turned to programs mostly in states where abortion […] The post Medical residents are increasingly avoiding states with abortion restrictions appeared first on Stateline.
The number of births continues to fall, despite abortion bans
Births continued a historic slide in all but two states last year, making it clear that a brief post-pandemic uptick in the nation’s birth numbers was all about planned pregnancies that had been delayed temporarily by COVID-19. Only Tennessee and North Dakota had small increases in births from 2022...
Undergrads are unionizing, in a sign of labor’s resurgence
Junior psychology major Erin Green works part time at the children’s preschool at Sonoma State University, caring for university employees’ kids ages 1 to 5. Some of the non-student workers in her center belong to a union. But she didn’t, until just a few weeks ago. Green, a 49-year-old returning student who works 20 hours […] The post Undergrads are unionizing, in a sign of labor’s resurgence appeared first on Stateline.
‘Mom’ legislators see their numbers and influence grow, but barriers to elected office remain
For the second time while serving in the Nevada legislature, Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro gave birth last year. And again, she publicly pledged to continue full participation in her duties. As the nation’s groundbreaker when it comes to working moms in a state capitol, Nevada made history in 2019...
Survivors of domestic and sexual violence can break their leases early in some states
New Hampshire state Rep. Ellen Read remembers how trapped she felt as an 18-year-old in her native Tennessee, enduring the physical and emotional toll of an abusive relationship. The abuse Read suffered — which included being held captive in an apartment for days and hit by her abuser’s car — lasted years after she left […] The post Survivors of domestic and sexual violence can break their leases early in some states appeared first on Stateline.
As millions lose federal help to pay for internet, some areas aim to fill the gap
In the small North Carolina town of Bryson City, just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Kathleen Wain raises two grandchildren in her subsidized-rent apartment, taking them to sing in a church choir on weekends. For the past year and a half, Wain has received a discount on her internet service through a short-term federal […] The post As millions lose federal help to pay for internet, some areas aim to fill the gap appeared first on Stateline.
More addiction patients can take methadone at home, but some states lag behind
Matt Haney’s home in San Francisco isn’t far from a methadone clinic. The 42-year-old state lawmaker has watched people line up early each morning outside the clinic in the Tenderloin, a community long considered the epicenter of the city’s substance use epidemic. His neighbors wait for the daily dose of methadone that relieves their cravings and minimizes opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Montana could be a model as more GOP states weigh Medicaid work requirements
Two decades ago, Jeff Beisecker and his family returned to Great Falls, Montana, from a religious mission to the Philippines. Beisecker had no health insurance and no steady source of income, and neither did his wife. Fearful of being without coverage, Beisecker enrolled himself, his wife and their four children in Medicaid for nearly a […] The post Montana could be a model as more GOP states weigh Medicaid work requirements appeared first on Stateline.
Though noncitizens can vote in few local elections, GOP goes big to make it illegal
Preventing people who are not United States citizens from casting a ballot has reemerged as a focal point in the ongoing Republican drive to safeguard “election integrity,” even though noncitizens are rarely involved in voter fraud. Ahead of November’s presidential election, congressional and state Republican lawmakers are aiming...
Can’t install your own solar panels? Some areas let you join a community project.
For four generations, Steve Wine’s family has tended a 600-acre farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, raising steers and growing corn, soybeans and alfalfa. The farm has struggled in recent years with rising costs and slumping crop markets, leaving Wine to question the operation’s viability. In a bid to sustain the farm, Wine will begin in […] The post Can’t install your own solar panels? Some areas let you join a community project. appeared first on Stateline.
From crowded to quiet: Inside a clinic as Florida bans abortions after 6 weeks
Originally published by The 19th. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Anna’s period was only three days late when she took a pregnancy test just over a week ago. When she saw the positive result, she knew she wanted an abortion. A hospitality worker in north Florida, Anna earns barely $2,000 a month. She had only recently returned […] The post From crowded to quiet: Inside a clinic as Florida bans abortions after 6 weeks appeared first on Stateline.
Many states are eager to extend Medicaid to people soon to be released from prison
A new policy that allows states to provide Medicaid health care coverage to incarcerated people at least a month prior to their release has drawn bipartisan interest and a slew of state applications. Federal policy has long prohibited Medicaid spending on people who are incarcerated in jails or prisons, except for hospitalization. As a result, […] The post Many states are eager to extend Medicaid to people soon to be released from prison appeared first on Stateline.
Black homeowners start to close gap in property values
Black homeowners’ property values are on the rise across the country, with some of the biggest upswings in Midwestern and Southern states. The boon to Black homeowners, after decades of lagging property values, could help them close a racial wealth gap that has kept the American dream out of reach. Home values increased on average […] The post Black homeowners start to close gap in property values appeared first on Stateline.
States rethink data centers as ‘electricity hogs’ strain the grid
State Sen. Norm Needleman championed the 2021 legislation designed to lure major data centers to Connecticut. The Democratic lawmaker hoped to better compete with nearby states, bring in a growing industry, and provide paychecks for workers tasked with building the sprawling server farms. But this legislative session, he’s wondering if those tax breaks are appropriate […] The post States rethink data centers as ‘electricity hogs’ strain the grid appeared first on Stateline.
States are required to background check child care workers. Many are falling short.
Originally published by The 19th. More than a decade ago, Celia Sims sat in a room with parents whose precious children had died while at day care. Most had been neglected by their caregivers. Some died from injuries, others in their sleep. Most of the children attended licensed facilities, and at the time, their parents […] The post States are required to background check child care workers. Many are falling short. appeared first on Stateline.
‘Transformative’: More college programs are slowly coming into prisons
When the U.S. Department of Education announced last summer that federal Pell Grants would become available to incarcerated college students, lawmakers and state corrections agencies scrambled to adjust statutes and step up potential partnerships with universities. But nearly a year later, colleges and agencies are recognizing the steep administrative challenge...
Anxiety over squatters, fueled by TikTok, inspires a wave of legislation
Across various news channels and outlets, a visceral fear of some property owners — that an unwanted guest could move into their vacant home, refuse to leave, and then claim ownership — has been a trending story. These squatter horror stories have reached a fever pitch in the past month after a migrant TikTok influencer, […] The post Anxiety over squatters, fueled by TikTok, inspires a wave of legislation appeared first on Stateline.
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