International Rights Group Calls Out US for Allowing Hospitals to Push Millions Into Debt
By Noam N. Levey
In a new report, Human Rights Watch urges stronger federal and state action to hold hospitals to account for a medical debt crisis that now burdens more than 100 million Americans.
Montana Clinics Chip Away at Refugees’ Obstacles to Dental Care
By Erica Zurek
As the number of refugees entering the U.S. grows, those arriving in Montana and other rural areas find limited dental care options.
Tech Luminaries Give RFK Jr.’s Anti-Vaccine Message a Boost
By Darius Tahir
The views of the leader of a broad anti-vaccine movement who is now running for president are unchallenged in public forums run by several prominent Silicon Valley figures.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, June 14, 2023
School heat plans, homeless deaths, the drug epidemic, covid, preventive care coverage, military health, and more are in the news.
At Least 1.7M Americans Use Health Sharing Arrangements, Despite Lack of Protections
By Markian Hawryluk
A new report boosts the estimated number of people enrolled in plans whose members — usually brought together by shared religious beliefs — pay one another’s health costs.
Foster Kids in Casino Hotels? It Happened in Rural Nevada Amid Widespread Site Shortages
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
A nationwide decline in foster home spots has led to dire situations in some rural areas, including northeastern Nevada, where a state social worker has been pleading with community leaders to help address a shortage that left officials housing children in casino hotels.
California Schools Start Hatching Heat Plans as the Planet Warms
By Calli McMurray
State researchers offer recommendations on how schools can become more heat-resilient in the face of global warming. Proposed changes to state law could make it easier to build shade structures.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Health worker wages, ICE seeks medical records, the next covid vaccine, homelessness, Medicaid, health funding, and more are in the news.
Biden Admin Implores States to Slow Medicaid Cuts After More Than 1M Enrollees Dropped
By Hannah Recht
Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra is asking states to make more of an effort to keep eligible Medicaid recipients enrolled. He particularly fears children losing health insurance coverage.
Fraudsters Are Duping Homeless People Into Signing Up for ACA Plans They Can’t Afford
By Daniel Chang
Homeless people are being fraudulently enrolled in health plans on the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace, induced with cash payments from insurance agents and brokers. Those who sign up for an ACA plan are disqualified from other forms of free and low-cost care and risk disruption in treatment.