Tracking State Rural Health Transformation Plans
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Rural Health
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø News covers the health issues facing people who live in America’s rural reaches.
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With Sexually Transmitted Infections Off the Charts, California Pushes At-Home Tests
A new law makes California the first state to require that health insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover home STI tests. But some details still need to be worked out.
By Rachel Bluth -
Rural Communities Left Hurting Without a Hospital, Ambulance or Doctors Nearby
Rural areas such as Echols County, Georgia, have high levels of uninsured people and profound physician shortages that compound the lack of health care options, especially in the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid.
By Andy Miller -
Local Pharmacists Fill Rx Void as Big Brands Pull Out of Rural Areas
Stores like Walmart and Shopko opened pharmacies in small towns, either buying out the local pharmacy or driving it out of business. What happens when those chains later withdraw, leaving communities with no pharmacy?
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As Hospitals Fill Up, Paramedics Spend More Time Moving Patients, Less on Emergencies
Gunnison paramedics cover the largest response zone in Colorado. Because of covid and the lack of nearby hospital beds, patients increasingly are transported long distances, leaving few ambulances to respond to emergencies.
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Seeking Refills: Aging Pharmacists Leave Drugstores Vacant in Rural America
Independent pharmacists who want to retire often have trouble attracting new pharmacists to take over their practices, particularly in rural areas. That can cause smaller towns to lose their pharmacies. With many pharmacists near retirement, the problem may only get worse.
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Covid Shots for Kids Are Scarce — And Demand Is Mixed — In Rural Montana
Although covid vaccines have been available to children as young as 5 for more than a month, they’re not being offered in some rural Montana counties, and parents don’t know where to find them in others.
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A Rural Georgia Community Reels After Its Hospital Closes
A record number of hospitals closed in rural America last year. For the residents of Cuthbert, Georgia, the loss has meant many problems, including delayed care for emergencies that can turn deadly.
By Andy Miller -
Journalists Explore Health Care Disparities and Policy Pitfalls
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
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The ER Charged Him $6,500 for Six Stitches. No Wonder His Critically Ill Wife Avoided the ER.
With few options for health care in their rural community, a Tennessee couple’s experience with one outrageous bill could have led to a deadly decision the next time they needed help.
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As Big Pharma and Hospitals Battle Over Drug Discounts, Patients Miss Out on Millions in Benefits
The number of pharmacies dispensing 340B discounted drugs soared to more than 31,000 this year. Drugmakers struck back by halting some discounts. Hospitals say they are losing millions of dollars — and cutting back services to patients — as a result.
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How Rural Communities Are Losing Their Pharmacies
More than 1,000 independent rural pharmacies have closed since 2003, leaving 630 communities with no retail drugstore. As 41 million people stuck in pharmacy deserts make do, the remaining drugstores struggle to survive.
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How Low Can They Go? Rural Hospitals Weigh Keeping Obstetric Units When Births Decline
Many small hospitals have shuttered their labor and delivery units as births decline. For those who resist the trend, some studies suggest that hospitals with low deliveries are more likely to see complications for patients. Doctors and public health experts say there is no magic number to determine when it is best to close an obstetrics unit.
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In Maine, Vaccine Mandate for EMTs Stresses Small-Town Ambulance Crews
The covid vaccination rate for first responders in the state is more than 95%. But it's lower in more rural areas, where ambulance crews can't function if even just a few people quit.
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‘No Mercy’ Bonus Episodes: More From Fort Scott, Kansas
Check out the latest bonus episodes from the award-winning "Where It Hurts" podcast.
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What Will It Take to Boost Vaccinations? The Scene From Kentucky’s Back Roads
With Kentucky in the grip of a covid surge, public health workers are taking their vaccination campaign house to house and church to church, trying to outmaneuver the fantastical tales spread on social media and everyday hurdles of hardship and isolation.
By Sarah Varney -
Journalists Tell How Covid Complicates Organ Transplants and the Health of Rural America
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
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Journalists Examine Vaccination Rates Among Student Nurses and in Covid Hot Spots
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
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Covid Is Killing Rural Americans at Twice the Rate of Urbanites
The pandemic is devastating rural America, where lower vaccination rates are compounding the already limited medical care.
By Lauren Weber -
Delta Cutting ‘Like a Buzzsaw’ Through Oregon-California Border Counties
Zoom in on states with overall good vaccination rates and you see a checkerboard effect, with rural areas far lagging urban zones. That’s allowed the pandemic to rage in places like Jackson County, Oregon, overwhelming hospitals.
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To Stoke Rural Vaccination Rates, Trusted Farmers Are Asked to Spread Word
Rural health experts are calling on trusted agricultural leaders — like farmers and ranchers — to use their understanding of science and nudge vaccine-hesitant neighbors to roll up their sleeves for a covid shot. But some farmers say they doubt they can change anyone’s mind.