Health Care
‘ChatGPT saved my life.’ How patients, and doctors, are using AI to make a diagnosis
Hundreds of millions of people are turning to chatbots to help figure out what's wrong with them. Doctors say that's not always a bad thing. In fact, many are using it themselves.
Are you on a high-deductible health plan? What do you wish you knew?
People with ACA health insurance just saw prices surge and many switched to plans with high deductibles and health savings accounts. If that's you, what do you wish you knew about how your plan works?
Here’s what to know about the $50 billion states are getting for rural health
To satisfy Republicans opposed to last summer's cuts to health care, the Trump administration launched an ambitious 5-year initiative known as the Rural Health Transformation Program.
Here’s how ‘shared decision making’ for childhood vaccines could limit access
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new approach to six shots that were formerly given routinely will introduce new hurdles for getting kids immunized. And it could have a chilling effect on doctors.
How North Carolina erased medical debt for 2.5 million people
The state partnered with a nonprofit to wipe out the debts. It also has a plan in place to prevent medical debt for people in specific income brackets.
Marrying for health insurance? The ACA cost crisis forces some drastic choices
While Congress debates bringing back Affordable Care Act subsidies , many Americans have already made life-altering decisions to afford health care.
Rideshare union rights, social media limits and other state laws taking effect Jan. 1
Every new year, public media reporters across the country bring us some of the new state laws taking effect where they are. Here are six in 2026.
Should the U.S. model its vaccine policy on Denmark’s? Experts say we’re nothing alike
The Trump administration wants to revamp U.S. childhood vaccination recommendations to align with some other peer nations, including one tiny country in northern Europe.
Shopping for pricy ACA health plans? Some cheaper options come with trade-offs
Without a fix from Congress, costs for many people who buy health care on the Affordable Care Act marketplace have gone up. Here's what's to know about cheaper choices — and pitfalls to be aware of.
Nonprofit erases millions in medical debt across Gulf South, says it’s ‘Band-Aid’ for real issue
Undue Medical Debt has paid off more than $299 million in medical debts in Alabama. Now, the nonprofit warns that the issue could soon get worse.
Alabama ranks near bottom in latest Medicare scorecard; here’s why
A new Commonwealth Fund report paints a stark picture of how Medicare is serving older adults and people with disabilities in the Gulf South.
Drug checking services save lives in the Netherlands. The Gulf South doesn’t have any
Both the U.S. and the Netherlands wrestle with the politics of drug use, but their approaches diverge in key ways that reflect deeper ideological divides.
States are cutting Medicaid provider payments long before Trump cuts hit
North Carolina and Idaho have cut their Medicaid programs to bridge budget gaps, raising fears that providers will stop taking patients and that hospitals will close even before the brunt of a new federal tax-and-budget law takes effect.
Gulf South pharmacies make their own rules amid confusing COVID guidance: ‘It’s clear as mud’
Unclear rules and inconsistent interpretations of federal and state COVID-19 vaccination rules leave families confused and vulnerable patients unprotected.
Care close to home: how a rural doctor meets medical needs in Alabama’s countryside
Doctors are harder to come by in rural Alabama than in big cities. That’s why Cahaba Medical Care developed a residency program that both trains and then hires doctors in rural clinics.
NFL Legend Emmitt Smith, ‘The Bachelorette’s’ Zac Clark raise overdose awareness at LSU
Smith has partnered with Clark for the Ready to Rescue initiative, stopping at college campuses across the country for short talks and hands-on training.
Concerned about federal vaccine policies, states are crafting their own
As federal health agencies change their approach to vaccine policy leaving access for COVID shots uncertain, some states are taking things into their own hands.
How rural hospitals are banding together to survive
Independent and rural hospitals are collaborating with their neighbors to shore up their finances instead of joining larger health systems to stay afloat.
New Orleans musicians feel the heat of rising temperatures: ‘You can hear it in the music’
Data from climate scientists show that the heat is turning up in New Orleans, and the rate that it’s increasing is getting faster. Here’s why.
Medical groups are concerned that RFK Jr. may dismiss a panel of primary care experts
The American Medical Association is urging HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. not to oust members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent group of experts focused on primary care.
Alabama officials worry about life-saving Narcan program’s future as CDC grants stall
OD2A funds helped Alabama make naloxone more widely available last year. Health experts say it's responsible for a promising downturn in overdose deaths.
WATCH: SANEs and survivors in the South, a listening session with the Gulf States Newsroom
The Gulf States Newsroom hosted a virtual discussion of Drew Hawkins' reporting on the shortage of sexual assault nurse examiners in the region.
Americans’ medical debt can stay in credit reports, judge rules. What does that mean?
The judge's decision vacated a rule imposed by the Biden administration earlier this year to keep medical debt from affecting credit scores.
Q&A: How a conservative Mississippi mom became an advocate for legalizing drugs
Christina Dent talks about founding End It For Good, her journey to rethinking drugs and addiction and how Mississippi can change its approach, too
Netherlands police embrace a public health approach to drugs. Will it work in the South?
Despite the opioid crisis’ deadly toll, U.S police treat drug use as a criminal issue. But in the Netherlands, a public health approach has seen better results.
Wisconsin’s 1849 law does not ban abortion, the state Supreme Court rules
After years of litigation following the Dobbs decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court justices, with their liberal majority, ruled that the state's 176-year-old law does not ban abortion in the state.
Supreme Court upholds key Obamacare measure on preventive care
Siding with the government on Friday, the court upheld the Affordable Care Act, allowing the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to continue determining which services will be available free of cost to Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act.
Medicaid changes don’t meet Senate rules in ‘big, beautiful bill’ says parliamentarian
The nonpartisan Senate official whose office determines if legislation fits within the rules of the chamber dealt Senate Republicans a blow on proposed changes to Medicaid.
Supreme Court upholds South Carolina’s ban on Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood
The Supreme Court allowed South Carolina to remove Planned Parenthood clinics from its state Medicaid program, even though Medicaid funds cannot generally be used to fund abortions.
Purdue Pharma, Sacklers reach new $7.4 billion opioid settlement
A new $7.4 billion opioid settlement for Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family has been approved by all U.S. states and territories
Trauma-informed nurses help sexual assault survivors. Most hospitals don’t have them.
Alabama has 44 certified SANEs for the entire state. Louisiana has 42. Mississippi only has 6 — for a population of almost three million.
Alabama drops four places in national child well-being rankings
Alabama ranked 43rd nationally for child well-being in the latest KIDS COUNT data book from by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
