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Abortion by mail is on the rise, even in states like Washington where it remains legal

Eilís O’Neill October 24, 2025 / 1:29 pm In Washington and 17 other states where abortion is still legal, telehealth orders for abortion medication have doubled since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Anna Fiastro, a researcher at the UW School of Medicine, studied the orders for abortion medication received by Aid Access, an organization…
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Rural Washington hospitals brace for fallout from Medicaid cuts

Many institutions in Eastern Washington are kept solvent by federal funding, but changes under H.R. 1 could irreparably damage rural health care. Amanda Sullender Monica Carrillo-Casas Mitchell Roland Orion Donovan Smith Sep 11, 2025 If the hospital in the historic southeast Washington town of Dayton has to close, Acadia Murphey thinks the town will “probably…
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The national suicide hotline for LGBTQ+ youth shut down. States are scrambling to help.

By: Annie Sciacca, KFF Health News September 1, 2025 5:00 am This article first appeared on KFF Health News. If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.” On July 17, the option shut down for LGBTQ+ youth to access specialized mental…
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People with developmental disabilities seeing Medicaid coverage lapse more often

Aug 08, 2025 | 11:00 pm ET By Danielle J. Brown An increasing number of people with developmental disabilities are falling through the cracks of Medicaid, going months without health care coverage because the state can’t keep pace with new applications and wrongful termination appeals. Concrete numbers are hard to come by, but providers and developmental…
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They don’t need Medicaid. But their kids do.

Kayla Jimenez, Madeline Mitchell July 19, 2025 Stacy Staggs’s 11-year-old daughter will never eat or breathe on her own. Five times a day, Staggs or a nurse feeds her daughter, Emma Staggs, doctor-prescribed formula through a feeding tube at home. The formula comes at $25 per bottle, amounting to $125 per day. The formula is…
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Trump Order Sparks Concerns About Forced Institutionalization

by Michelle Diament | August 1, 2025 A White House order calling for greater reliance on institutionalization threatens decades of precedent on disability rights, advocates are warning. The executive order issued late last month by President Donald Trump is aimed at addressing homelessness, but could have implications for people with disabilities more broadly, according to multiple disability advocacy…
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Feds investigate hospitals over religious exemptions from gender-affirming care

July 8, 2025 5:00 AM ET By Kate Wells The Trump administration has launched investigations into health systems in what legal experts say is an effort to allow providers to refuse care for transgender patients on religious or moral grounds. One of the most recent actions by the Department of Health and Human Services, launched in…
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Kaiser to halt gender-affirming surgery for patients under 19 across the US, including Oregon and Washington

By Amelia Templeton (OPB) Updated: Aug. 4, 2025 12:47 p.m. Kaiser members can seek referrals to outside providers, a spokesperson said. Kaiser Permanente will no longer provide surgical treatments for gender dysphoria at its hospitals and surgical centers for patients under the age of 19. The pause on some procedures is effective Aug. 29. The decision, made…
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HIV prevention drug hailed as a ‘breakthrough’ gets FDA approval

June 18, 2025 4:59 PM ET By Jonathan Lambert A drug with the potential to drastically curb the HIV epidemic just cleared its first regulatory hurdle. On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved lenacapavir for the prevention of HIV. Clinical trial data from last year suggest just two injections a year provide near-complete protection…
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Supreme Court clears way for states to kick Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid

Patients do not have legal standing to sue if a state denies their right to see their preferred medical provider, the court said in a 6-3 ruling. By Alice Miranda Ollstein, Josh Gerstein and Lauren Gardner Updated: 06/26/2025 01:22 PM EDT The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for states to exclude Planned Parenthood from their Medicaid programs. In…
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