Health
Fast federal response to pandemic key to US economic recovery, economists say
The public health emergency declaration ended on Thursday, and with it some of the policies that helped the U.S. recover from the many of the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Although COVID-19 is still a public health threat, the national economic crisis it created has subsided with the U.S. economy back to its pre-pandemic […]
As the COVID public health emergency ends, prepping for a new pandemic is next
WASHINGTON — After more than three years and 1.1 million deaths, the United States on Thursday will end the public health emergency for COVID-19 — and Congress is attempting to better prepare for a possible resurgence of that virus or another. The expiration of the designation, originally put in place in January 2020, means alterations […]
Her fetus had 1% chance of survival. Idaho’s ban forced her to travel for an abortion.
Jennifer Adkins’ first pregnancy was near-perfect. She sailed through her appointments and screenings with no complications, ticking every box and making lists of all the right questions to ask her medical professionals. By the time her unmedicated labor was over and the nurses placed her newborn son on her chest, Adkins felt like a superhero. […]
Judge won’t reconsider order protecting Idaho ER doctors from abortion prosecutions
A federal judge denied Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s request to reconsider the order barring the state from prosecuting emergency room physicians for providing abortion care to stabilize a patient. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill made his initial decision to block part of Idaho’s ban on abortions in August, just before the ban went […]
Can it beat its record? With $2M so far, Idaho Gives enters final day of nonprofit fundraising
Sherrie Joseph is in the middle of expanding the Pocatello Free Clinic to neighboring Power County, where the clinic now serves immigrants in American Falls who haven’t had access to dental care or mental health services before. On the other side of the state, Ali Rabe and the staff at Jesse Tree in Boise have […]
Idaho governor says Medicaid shouldn’t pay for transgender medical care — for anyone
As a lawsuit by transgender Idahoans against the state’s Medicaid administrators makes its way through federal court, Gov. Brad Little stepped in this week to clarify the state’s official position on the matter. “It has come to my attention that you and the Department of Health and Welfare are currently being sued for having not […]
How a longtime Idaho anti-abortion activist pushed the boundaries of Idaho’s ban
A fast-food restaurant was the last place she expected to have an abortion. A month had gone by since the 26-year-old had found out she was about seven weeks pregnant. She’d gone to her closest Planned Parenthood, near Boise, last August — the same week that abortion became a criminal act in her state. The woman, […]
‘Your brain doesn’t like it’: Scientists investigate air pollution’s effect on mental health
In the 1990s, residents of Mexico City noticed their dogs acting strangely — some didn’t recognize their owners, and the animals’ sleep patterns had changed. At the time, the sprawling, mountain-ringed city of more than 15 million people was known as the most polluted in the world, with a thick, constant haze of fossil fuel […]
Breaking down barriers to care: Meet the Idaho visionaries competing to find a blood cancer cure.
Since 1949, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has raised more than $1.5 billion to establish effective treatments and find a cure for blood cancers through research. The LLS has helped advance more than 70% of the blood cancer treatment options approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration since 2017, according to the organization. Those […]
Some could use support after abortion. But quality care can be hard to find.
Alex D. turned 23 on the day the U.S. Supreme Court released the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. She was visiting the Omaha Zoo in Nebraska on vacation, riding the chairlift over the rhino exhibit when she saw the news alert on her phone. She was also eight weeks pregnant and needed an abortion. […]
Idaho’s Wilder School District to celebrate upcoming Mental Health Awareness day
The Wilder School District is taking steps to promote mental health services for its students this Mental Health Awareness Day, according to a press release from the district. The district will host an event at the Wilder High School gym from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. May 1 to raise awareness and reduce stigma around […]
Credit bureau CEOs face tough questions at Senate hearing; Democrats push to remove medical debt
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators grilled the executives of three major credit reporting bureaus Thursday on whether their practices are transparent and fair to consumers, with Democrats frequently pressing the CEOs to remove medical debt from the reports. Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, said all […]