Familias huyen de los estados que niegan atención de salud a las personas trans
By Bram Sable-Smith and Daniel Chang and Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez and Sandy West
Más de una cuarta parte de los adultos trans encuestados por KFF y The Washington Post a fines del año pasado dijeron que se mudaron a otro vecindario, ciudad o estado en busca de un ambiente más tolerante.
Bounties and Bonuses Leave Small Hospitals Behind in Staffing Wars
By Bram Sable-Smith
A hospital in Wisconsin sued to keep seven employees from taking jobs with a competitor. A health system in South Dakota is offering nurses $40,000 signing bonuses. Facilities with fewer resources are finding it difficult or impossible to compete for health care workers.
The Advice to Vaccinate and Test Isn’t Much Help to Parents With Kids Under 5
By Bram Sable-Smith
Many parents of children too young for vaccines are exhausted. Some feel isolated and even forgotten by those who just want to move on even as omicron continues to sweep through parts of the country.
Faxes and Snail Mail: Will Pandemic-Era Flaws Unleash Improved Health Technology?
By Bram Sable-Smith
The covid-19 pandemic exposed how state and local governments’ severely outdated technology can hinder unemployment benefits, food stamps, Medicaid, vaccine registrations, and the flow of other critical information. Now, with hefty federal pandemic relief and unexpected tax windfalls, states may finally have the chance to revamp their information technology for health care and social services. But can they?
I Write About America’s Absurd Health Care System. Then I Got Caught Up in It.
By Bram Sable-Smith
A KHN reporter had written for years about the people left behind by the absurdly complex and expensive U.S. health care system. Then he found himself navigating that maze as he tried to get his insulin prescription filled.
A Tale of Two Medicaid Expansions: Oklahoma Jumps In, While Missouri Lags
By Bram Sable-Smith
Voters in Missouri and Oklahoma approved Medicaid expansion to begin in 2021. But while Oklahoma has enrolled over 200,000 people so far, Missouri has enrolled fewer than 20,000. Why are two such similar states handling the public insurance rollout so differently?
Patients’ Perilous Months-Long Waiting for Medicaid Coverage Is a Sign of What’s to Come
By Bram Sable-Smith and Rachana Pradhan
The pandemic crisis has overwhelmed understaffed state Medicaid agencies, already delaying access to the insurance program in Missouri. As the public health emergency ends, low-income people nationwide could find it even harder to have coverage.
If Congress Adds Dental Coverage to Medicare, Should All Seniors Get It?
By Bram Sable-Smith
Health equity advocates see a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide a dental benefit to millions of older Americans as Congress considers expanding Medicare services. But complicating that push is a debate over how many of the more than 60 million Medicare recipients should receive dental coverage.
Why Millions on Medicaid Are at Risk of Losing Coverage in the Months Ahead
By Rachana Pradhan
State Medicaid agencies for months have been preparing for the end of a federal mandate that has prevented states from removing people from the safety-net program during the pandemic.
Missouri Takes Months to Process Medicaid Applications — Longer Than Law Allows
By Bram Sable-Smith and Phil Galewitz
Missouri has more people waiting to have their Medicaid applications processed than it has approved since the expansion of the federal-state health insurance program. Although most states process Medicaid applications within a week, Missouri is taking, on average, more than two months. Patient advocates fear that means people will stay uninsured longer, leading them to postpone care or get stuck with high medical bills.
