Stateline

THOMAS BREHER/PIXABAY

Angry patients spur new state watchdogs to bring down drug prices

Oregon is one of 11 states with prescription drug affordability boards exploring measures to cap the drug prices paid by insurers, sparking pushback from the pharmaceutical industry

Jul 18, 2024

The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. | PIXABAY

Confusion, clinic closures may have caused big declines in contraception use, study shows

A poll released in early 2023 found that more than 30% of adults surveyed were unsure if Plan B was legal in all 50 states and over the counter, and half of women living in states with abortion bans were under the impression that emergency contraceptives were illegal or were unsure if they were legal

Jul 16, 2024

DAIRIES WITH MORE THAN 700 COWS, LIKE THIS ONE IN PENNSYLVANIA, ARE KNOWN AS CONFINED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS./LANCE CHEUNG/U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

As bird flu spreads on dairy farms, an ‘abysmal’ few workers are tested

Dairy workers are in rural areas, often with little access to transportation and no sick leave

Jul 2, 2024

Protesters gather at the U.S. Supreme Court on May 3, 2022, after a report that the court will overturn Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion. | SHUTTERSTOCK

US Supreme Court sends Idaho abortion case back down to lower courts

A group of Idaho physicians opposed to the state's abortion ban reacted with relief to the court's ruling. However, the case could return to the Supreme Court

Jun 27, 2024

The Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling, West Virginia closed in 2019 as part of a trend of rural hospitals closing or drastically cutting services. | COURTESY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

For some rural communities, a stripped-down hospital is better than none at all

Dying rural hospitals scale back services to get federal help

Jun 11, 2024

woman in lab clothing and safety glasses works at research station

Nicolle Baird, a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fellow, works on a real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis to better understand mpox at a laboratory in Ghana in 2022. U.S. public health officials are encouraging those at risk of mpox infection to get vaccinated as cases rise in several states compared with last year. | CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

As mpox cases rise, experts urge complete, 2-part vaccinations

Cases of the disease formerly known as monkeypox have more than doubled , jumping to 1,089 as of late May, up from 434 just 12 months before

Jun 4, 2024

SHUTTERSTOCK

Amid mental health crisis, new compact allows social workers to practice across state lines

America is facing a shortage of social workers and other mental health providers. Oregon lawmakers have not embraced a similar compact set up to address nursing shortages.

May 30, 2024