Daily Edition for Tuesday, January 2, 2024
A host of new health laws are now in effect; extreme heat; gun violence; housing; Medicaid reform; drug pricing; and more are in the news.
Can Family Doctors Deliver Rural America From Its Maternal Health Crisis?
By Sarah Jane Tribble
Family medicine doctors already deliver most of rural America’s babies, and efforts to train more in obstetrics care are seen as a way to cope with labor and delivery unit closures.
California Is Poised to Protect Workers From Extreme Heat — Indoors
By Samantha Young
Only a few states have rules to protect workers from the growing threat of extreme heat, either indoors or outdoors. California is expected to adopt heat standards for indoor workers in spring, even as federal legislation has stalled.
Child Care Gaps in Rural America Threaten to Undercut Small Communities
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
Deep gaps in rural America’s child care system threaten communities’ stability by shrinking the workforce and inhibiting economic potential. Now that pandemic-era federal aid for child care programs and low-income families has ended, it’s up to state and local leaders to find solutions.
California protegerá a trabajadores del calor extremo en interiores
By Samantha Young
Sólo otros dos estados, Minnesota y Oregon, han adoptado normas sobre el calor para las personas que trabajan en interiores, según la Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional (OSHA).
¿Pueden los médicos de familia salvar a las zonas rurales de la crisis de obstetras?
By Sarah Jane Tribble
El número de bebés que murieron antes de cumplir su primer año aumentó el año pasado; y más de la mitad de los condados rurales no tienen servicios hospitalarios para partos.
States Expand Health Coverage for Immigrants as GOP Hits Biden Over Border Crossings
By Phil Galewitz
More than 1 million immigrants, most lacking permanent legal status, are covered by state health programs. Several states, including GOP-led Utah, will soon add or expand such coverage.
Más estados amplían cobertura de salud para inmigrantes sin papeles, en medio de crisis en la frontera
By Phil Galewitz
La mayoría de los adultos sin papeles trabajan, representan aproximadamente el 5% de la fuerza laboral nacional, según el Pew Research Center.
Mental Health Courts Can Struggle to Fulfill Decades-Old Promise
By Sam Whitehead
Mental health courts have been touted as a means to help reduce the flow of people with mental illness into jails and prisons. But the specialized diversion programs can struggle to live up to that promise, and some say they’re a bad investment.
An Arm and a Leg: When Hospitals Sue Patients (Part 2)
By Dan Weissmann
Why do hospitals sue patients who can’t afford to pay their medical bills? On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann investigates such lawsuits and covers new laws and regulations that may change this practice.