Health Care
A new COVID booster is here. Will those at greatest risk get it?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends new COVID-19 booster vaccines for all — but many who need them most won’t get them. About 75% of people in the United States appear to have skipped last year’s bivalent booster, and nothing suggests uptake will be better this time around. “Urging people to get boosters has really […]
Iowa doctor who fights COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates sues Missouri hospital
An Iowa physician who has been critical of mask mandates and the COVID-19 vaccine is now suing a Missouri hospital over its staff-vaccination requirements. Dr. Mollie James of Chariton is suing Mercy ACO Clinical Services, Mercy Health and Mercy Health East Communities in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County. Her lawsuit seeks unspecified damages […]
COVID vaccine post from Missouri health department sparks backlash on social media
Within 24 hours of posting, a Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services tweet posted Wednesday racked up over 250,000 views and 140 comments: A staggering difference from their usual engagement. The same messaging did numbers on Facebook as well, with over 140 comments and 50 shares by Friday. So, what accounts for this sudden […]
Hospitals plead with Congress to avert $8 billion in cuts in Medicaid funding
WASHINGTON — Health care representatives from across the United States are urging Congress to halt cuts to funding that helps hospitals care for uninsured or low-income patients who rely on Medicaid. More than 250 hospitals and health systems appealed to House and Senate leadership in a letter Thursday asking the lawmakers to avert or delay a forthcoming […]
Missouri mental health department urged to abandon at-home care funding freeze
A disability-rights advocate pleaded with Missouri mental health officials Thursday not to implement a policy change that could freeze pay rates for at-home caregivers relied upon by more than 3,000 individuals around the state. At issue is a decision by the Missouri Department of Mental Health to change how it calculates rates for a program […]
Battles over spending, farm bill, Ukraine and yet more loom over a divided Congress
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House and Senate are both back in D.C. on Tuesday following a long summer recess, facing an overwhelming agenda of unfinished work — funding the federal government and reauthorizing major programs set to expire at the end of the month. Congressional leaders and President Joe Biden have only a few weeks […]
Washington University the second Missouri provider to stop transgender care for minors
Washington University in St. Louis joined University of Missouri Health as the latest provider of care to transgender minors to announce it is canceling pre-existing prescriptions for puberty blockers or hormone-replacement therapy. A new state law restricting access to gender-affirming care bars those under 18 from beginning new treatments. But in a compromise with opponents […]
Cole County judge hears case challenging ballot title for Missouri abortion initiatives
To backers of initiatives intended to enshrine abortion rights in Missouri’s constitution, the proposed ballot titles written by Secretary of State Jay Aschroft are poison intended to lead to certain defeat at the polls. But an attorney for Ashcroft, arguing Monday to keep the ballot title intact, said the ballot language that begins by saying […]
You might need an ambulance, but your state might not see it as ‘essential’
When someone with a medical emergency calls 911, they expect an ambulance to show up. But sometimes, there simply isn’t one available. Most states don’t declare emergency medical services (EMS) to be an “essential service,” meaning the state government isn’t required to provide or fund them. Now, though, a growing number of states are taking […]
The pandemic put Missouri mothers at greater violence risk — especially if they were Black
Social isolation during the pandemic put Missouri’s Black moms in greater danger that their partner would kill them. A report from the state’s maternal mortality review board found that from 2018 to 2020, homicide was the third-leading cause of death for Missouri moms. Black women made up 75% of those deaths. Among those homicides, guns […]
Missouri manufacturer faces accusations it polluted drinking water in the Bootheel
Two counties in Missouri’s Bootheel suffer from cancer mortality rates drastically higher than the state or national average. On the border between them lies a manufacturing facility in Portageville that for more than 50 years has pumped out parts for cars — and according to some residents, also released carcinogenic metals and chemicals into the […]
State push to defund Missouri Planned Parenthood clinics continues in appeal
Missouri’s Supreme Court will once again determine whether the state has the authority to restrict public funds from going to Planned Parenthood, after the attorney general formally filed its appeal last week of a December ruling that deemed the effort unconstitutional. After the state legislature voted to block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements last […]