health
Two Midwest communities find a cure for medical debt: pandemic stimulus funds
Local governments in Ohio and Illinois are using American Rescue Plan Act money to relieve residents struggling with medical debt by partnering with an organization that buys debt and wipes the slate clean for debtors. It’s a strategy advocates say could be duplicated across the country to help erase a multibillion-dollar problem. On Nov. 9, […]
Health effects of mass shootings ripple outward beyond immediate community
A grim and familiar pattern has followed the parade of mass shootings across America. In their aftermath, the nation’s attention focuses on the direct victims of the attacks, the dead and injured, their families and friends, and the witnesses. But a growing body of research reveals that the negative effects of mass shootings spread much […]
White House asks Congress for billions in Ukraine, COVID-19 funding during lame-duck session
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday asked Congress for billions more in funding this year to address COVID-19 and the ongoing war in Ukraine, suggesting lawmakers attach it to a spending bill that must pass before Dec. 16. The $9 billion request for COVID-19 operations and nearly $38 billion in additional relief for Ukraine […]
CMS OKs Arkansas’ experimental Life360 program for vulnerable Medicaid groups
The Biden administration on Tuesday approved a new component of Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion program focused on high-risk pregnancies, rural mental health care and at-risk young adults. Life360 Homes was one of the final outstanding portions of Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion waiver that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hadn’t approved. CMS signed off on most […]
Costs of incarceration rise as inflation squeezes inmates, families
Across the nation, prison commissaries are raising prices on items that many consider basic necessities — from deodorant to fresh fruit — not provided by the state department of corrections. The markups come as decades-high inflation is also squeezing inmates’ families, making it harder for them to help. It’s a burden that families shouldn’t have […]
Biden pitches ‘moonshot’ to cut the number of cancer deaths in half
WASHINGTON — Hoping to channel the momentum that led scientists to land Americans on the moon more than 50 years ago, President Joe Biden doubled down Monday on his quest to halve the number of cancer deaths as part of his revamped “cancer moonshot” initiative. Speaking from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum […]
DHS finalizes end to Trump-era ‘public charge’ rule for immigrants
The Biden administration finalized a new public charge rule on Thursday that would eliminate Trump-era policies that penalized low-income immigrants seeking health benefits and other services. The new rule from the Department of Homeland Security will roll back the types of assistance immigration officers can consider when evaluating immigrants for a green card and deciding […]
Progessives raise doubts about Manchin deal on environmental permitting
More than 50 U.S. House members are objecting to a push to revise federal environmental permitting requirements for energy projects — part of a deal Democratic leaders struck with U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III to win passage of their climate, health and taxes bill that passed last month. The House members signed onto a letter […]
College officials attend White House meeting on how to curb monkeypox on campus
WASHINGTON — The White House held a virtual meeting Thursday with more than 1,000 college and university officials to help them prepare for a school year when monkeypox cases are expected to crop up on campus. The Biden administration’s monkeypox and COVID-19 response teams as well as representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and […]
UAMS gets $3.4M grant to study radiation effects on human immune system
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has received $3.4 million to study injuries caused by radiation exposure from a nuclear accident or bioterrorism, according to a press release. The funds come from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health and will be used to study possible […]
Biden administration asks state, local officials to boost monkeypox vaccine outreach
WASHINGTON — Federal public health officials said Thursday they are working with state and local health departments to boost messaging and vaccinations for those most likely to contract monkeypox, including at large-scale events. But Biden administration officials at a press briefing also struggled to explain differing statements about how the vaccines should be administered, a […]
Arkansas COVID numbers decline, continuing trend
Active coronavirus cases continued to trend downward in Arkansas on Monday, according to the Arkansas Department of Health’s COVID-19 data portal. The department considers “active” cases to be currently infectious. The 860 fewer active cases Monday were a sharp dive after Sunday’s decline of 116 active cases, according to ADH data. Active cases totaled 11,044 […]