Health Care
DOGE cuts, policy changes jeopardize care, housing for vulnerable HIV patients in Alabama
Federal funding has helped states like Alabama and Mississippi make strides in fighting the HIV epidemic. Doctors and advocates are worried about the future.
How new at-home HPV test kits could help Alabama fight cervical cancer
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the country’s first at-home HPV screening kit, a disease that causes nearly all cervical cancers. While some hope the new kits might turn things around, others have questions.
These Democratic governors are trying to curb health care for unauthorized immigrants
After expanding state Medicaid programs to cover people in the country without legal status, Democrats are considering changes that would reduce immigrant access.
Could calligraphy help with anxiety? This study aims to find out
People have a lot of strategies for dealing with anxiety – medication, therapy or exercise, for instance. But a new study explored a different method – calligraphy.
AvKare recalls over-the-counter eye drops after FDA audit
Customers are encouraged to stop using several eye irritation products, including gels and artificial tears.
RFK Jr. stands by deep cuts to health budget during contentious hearings
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is standing firm on the sweeping cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services, cuts he says were suggested by Elon Musk and his DOGE team.
Medicaid cuts will hurt families and cost GOP politically, says Kentucky governor
Republicans' proposed Medicaid cuts will cause 8.6 million people to lose health insurance by 2034, an estimate shows. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said it will cost Republicans seats in Congress.
UnitedHealth Group abruptly replaces CEO Andrew Witty, deepening a terrible year
The health care conglomerate is facing mounting financial problems – and ongoing consumer anger over high costs and denied claims.
RFK Jr. says autism database will use Medicare and Medicaid info
The National Institutes of Health will partner with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to create a database of Americans with autism, using insurance claims, medical records and smartwatch data.
How a rural clinic is changing lives in Alabama and why it’s at risk
Cahaba Medical Care, a collection of clinics that get doctors into some of the poorest, sickest communities in Alabama, never turns away patients. But a federal grant that supports the doctors there is at risk of getting cut in the midst of the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize.
The long road to answers for some chronic illnesses
Growing costs, research cuts, and staffing shortages are health care issues that are top of mind for many in the country right now, especially for the millions of people who deal with chronic illness. Some of those people don’t even know what to call their illness.
Trump signs executive action to lower drug prices
The action is intended to build upon the existing program for Medicare drug price negotiations, which was created by the Inflation Reduction Act that passed during the Biden administration.
Doctors remove pig kidney from an Alabama woman after a record 130 days
Towana Looney is recovering well from the removal surgery and has returned home to Gadsden. In a statement, she thanked her doctors for “the opportunity to be part of this incredible research.”
Alabama lawmakers pass legislation that could give pregnant women more access to health care
The “presumptive eligibility” legislation states that Medicaid will pay for a pregnant woman’s outpatient medical care for up to 60 days while an application for the government-funded insurance program is being considered.
Supreme Court to decide if states can strip Planned Parenthood of Medicaid funds
At issue is whether a state, in this case, South Carolina, can remove Planned Parenthood clinics from its state Medicaid program, even though Medicaid funds cannot generally be used to fund abortions.
Five years out, an ER doc reflects on how he and his colleagues faced down COVID-19
In Alabama, emergency departments were overrun during the Covid-19 pandemic – the state had one of the highest rates of hospitalizations in the country. Children’s of Alabama ER doc David Bernard remembers “the first time we started to feel that maybe we wouldn't die.”
Advocates push for Medicaid expansion in holdout Alabama
Advocates gathered at the Alabama Statehouse Tuesday urging lawmakers to reconsider their long-held reluctance to expand Medicaid, saying the decision is hurting both working families and health care providers. But the push comes at a time there is gathering uncertainty about possible cuts and changes in Washington to Medicaid.
In court, Luigi Mangione’s lawyer claims he was searched illegally during arrest
Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had his first court appearance since he was arraigned in December on charges including murder as an act of terrorism.
Inside a Mississippi man’s fight with health insurance and a hospital for life-saving surgery
Trevor Malosh’s heart surgery was finally on the books after months of negotiations with his insurance company and the hospital. Then, another setback happened.
Trump administration yanks CDC flu vaccine campaign
As flu rages, the Trump administration has pulled the plug on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention flu immunization campaign that targeted high-risk groups, including pregnant women.
Deep cuts to NIH funding would cause economic harm across Trump-friendly Alabama
Birmingham has become one of the country’s leading hubs for biomedical research. Banners downtown brag about the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s status in the top 1% of institutions for NIH funding, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars into the region.
Alabama woman with a functioning pig organ is thriving after a record 2 months
An Alabama woman passed a major milestone Saturday to become the longest living recipient of a pig organ transplant – healthy and full of energy with her new kidney for 61 days and counting.
The Gulf South needs more sexual assault nurse examiners. Is teleSANE the answer?
While some see telemedicine as a useful tool to help provide care to sexual assault survivors, others believe it's not enough to solve the nursing shortage.
In New Orleans, focus shifts toward community recovery, healing after terror attack
Officials and health experts are working to make sure those affected by the Bourbon Street attack have access to the medical and financial resources they need.
Living HealthSmart in Alabama is getting easier thanks to a growing UAB initiative
The Live HealthSmart Alabama initiative, which the University of Alabama at Birmingham launched in 2019, has a goal of pulling Alabama out of the bottom 10 states in terms of negative health indicators by removing systemic barriers. Pilot projects in four Birmingham neighborhoods wrapped up this year, and organizers hope their success can be replicated throughout the state.
An Alabama woman is doing well after the latest experimental pig kidney transplant
Towana Looney is the fifth American given a gene-edited pig organ — and notably, she isn’t as sick as prior recipients who died within two months of receiving a pig kidney or heart.
Alabama leads US in ‘pregnancy criminalization’ cases following Dobbs decision: report
The report’s findings help shed light on the use of criminal laws informed by the idea of fetal personhood, a legal premise gaining traction in the South.
Medicaid coverage is expanding into prisons in 2025, starting with children
New federal policies extend Medicaid to incarcerated youth and open the door for adult inmates to get coverage before they’re released.
‘Where’s Jeff?’: Unhoused and struggling with opioid addiction in Birmingham
As Alabama decides how to spend its opioid settlement funds, a good Samaritan spends her free time helping “her people” who struggle with addiction.
Alabama, Mississippi receive millions to improve rural health care; here’s how they’ll spend it
The federal funding from the Biden-Harris administration will help each state improve maternal health care and opioid addiction treatment in rural communities.
One thing about unspeakable tragedy … you have to speak about it
Writer, musician, and standup storyteller, Sean Dietrich, entertains audiences across the country, including venues like the Grand Ole Opry. But he’s equally well known as an advocate for suicide prevention. His first bit of advice to people going through difficult times is to talk.
Deceptive drug tests ensnare new parents and babies
Imagine giving birth and then testing positive for a drug. Except you didn't take any drugs. Still the state Department of Human Resources opens an investigation based on that erroneous test.
