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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
Obstetrician and gynecologist Taylar Swartz uses an ultrasound scanner to check the health of Addie Comegys’ baby on May 30. Comegys, who said she was due in late August, had traveled 45 minutes for her prenatal appointment at Mahaska Health in Oskaloosa, one of a few rural hospitals in Iowa still offering labor and delivery services. | TONY LEYS/KFF HEALTH NEWS

Rural hospitals built during baby boom now face baby bust

As regional U.S. birth rates decline, more than half of rural hospitals lack maternity services while the remainder often face added challenges due to low federal reimbursements
Jul 16, 2024
Safety net clinic workers, including many in Multnomah County, provide needed medical care for marginalized populations, including people lacking shelter. | MULTNOMAH COUNTY/MOTOYA NAKAMURA

Washington safety net clinic chain battles for accreditation as doctors-in-training bolt

Sea Mar operates three dozen clinics, including in Vancouver, and says its medical residency program that helps train needed physicians has been decimated by a recent decision to withdraw accreditation
Jul 11, 2024
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The medical establishment has wrestled with evidence that racial minorities and other marginalized communities experience worse health outcomes and that biases by health care providers — conscious and unconscious — have contributed to those disparities. | SHUTTERSTOCK

Oregon Medical Board delays microaggression, bias rule criticized as vague

Medical professions are trying to address racism in health care. But a group representing Oregon doctors raised concerns over how the rule would be applied
Jul 11, 2024
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The District of Columbia is one of the many communities nationwide working with property owners to replace water service lines that contain lead. The city aims to replace all lead service lines by 2030. Competing federal guidelines call for replacing all the nation’s lead service lines within either 10 or 30 years. | KYTJA WEIR/KFF HEALTH NEWS

Why the election may slow plans to replace lead pipes

Although lead was banned from new water service lines in 1986, it’s estimated that more than 9 million such lines still carry drinking water to homes and businesses throughout the country
Jul 11, 2024

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