Health care
Need mental health care in SD? You may have to get in line
Angelena Plummer, owner of a counseling practice in Rapid City, knows what it’s like to wait for mental health care. A few years ago, she called a therapist after a distressing life event. When she found out the wait was three months for the next available appointment, Plummer recalled, “it was a literal jaw drop.” […]
U.S. judge rules insurers don’t have to cover many free preventive health services
WASHINGTON — Health insurance companies may no longer need to cover a wide swath of preventive health care services that were required by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, under a federal judge’s ruling issued Thursday in Texas. The decision could affect millions of Americans’ access to no-cost preventive health care — including pregnancy-related care, cancer […]
State spends $11.6 million to update equipment for South Dakota ambulance services
Dozens of ambulance services in rural South Dakota have been operating for years with outdated or broken patient care tools because the agencies don’t have enough money to purchase new equipment, but that’s beginning to change thanks to an infusion of funding. Gov. Kristi Noem and state lawmakers approved three initiatives in 2022 that allocated […]
Postpartum Medicaid expansion is the first step to maternal health equity, experts say
Arkansas has the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States: 43.5 deaths from 2018 to 2021 for every 100,000 live births, according to the latest federal data. But the state only extends postpartum Medicaid to 60 days after childbirth. A bill by Arkansas Rep. Aaron Pilkington, R-Knoxville, aims to change that and would seek […]
A state that’s ‘pro-birth’ should also be truly ‘pro-life’
No matter where you fit on the political spectrum, the news on June 24, 2022, was staggering: The Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that guaranteed women the right to an abortion. Polls indicate that two-thirds of the country saw this as a crippling blow to the rights of women. For […]
Moderna plan to hike COVID vaccine price to $130 a dose rebuked at U.S. Senate hearing
WASHINGTON — The CEO of Moderna on Wednesday defended the company’s decision to drastically increase the price of its COVID-19 vaccine later this year, arguing that an expected drop in demand, changes to its distribution process and the overall benefit of the vaccine warrant the higher cost. That decision was met with bipartisan condemnation from […]
‘Why wait?’ SD businesses can purchase opioid overdose medication under new law
Bystanders who witness an opioid overdose in a public space, restaurant or workplace only have one option under existing state law: call 911 and wait for help to arrive. But waiting puts lives at risk, said Rep. Brian Mulder, R-Sioux Falls. Under current law, medications used to treat opioid overdoses in emergency situations — such […]
As opioids overdose deaths keep rising, report urges lawmakers to develop new approaches
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers should view America’s staggering opioid crisis, including the rise of illicit fentanyl, through an “ecosystems” approach, argues a massive RAND Corporation report published Thursday. That means they should examine the gaps and interconnections among emergency response, data collection, education, treatment, housing and law enforcement, the report advises. The 600-page volume — which […]
Congress unanimously votes to require declassified information on COVID-19 origins
WASHINGTON — The divided 118th Congress approved its first bill Friday, after lawmakers in both the House and Senate voted unanimously to send President Joe Biden legislation that would require declassification of intelligence on the origins of COVID-19. The four-page bill, which the House voted 419-0 to clear, would require the Director of National Intelligence […]
Lawmakers hear theories on COVID-19 origins in U.S. House hearing
WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans mostly agreed Wednesday that scientists and the intelligence community should fully investigate the origins of COVID-19 without political interference over whether the virus emerged from nature or through a lab leak. Members from both political parties said throughout the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing that determining […]
Former Minnesota governors: Sanford should not control U of M hospital
Two former Minnesota governors on Tuesday expressed concerns to lawmakers about a potential merger between two already large health care systems — Fairview Health Services and Sanford Health. Former Govs. Tim Pawlenty, the last Minnesota Republican to win statewide office, and his DFL successor Mark Dayton, came together to urge lawmakers to prioritize Minnesotans’ interests […]
This International Women’s Day, U.S. anti-abortion laws violate human rights, groups say
Ahead of International Women’s Day, hundreds of U.S. and global human rights groups, doctors, and attorneys have asked the United Nations to intervene on behalf of the millions of women in the U.S. who have been left without access to legal abortion and vital forms of reproductive health care in the wake of last summer’s […]