skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A potent winter storm is thumping 1,500 miles of the US. Two more are right behind it; Amid scientists' warnings, Trump admin. sued over medical research cuts; Mississippi communities find local solutions to rural education challenges; CT groups rally against gas pipeline expansion.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President Donald Trump approves 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Democrats who oppose dismantling the agency have been denied access to the Department of Education. And some places buck policy trends on sex education and immigration.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Medical debt, which tops $90 billion has an outsized impact on rural communities, a new photography book shares the story of 5,000 schools built for Black students between 1912 and 1937, and anti-hunger advocates champion SNAP.

Report: Rural America would feel pain of deep Medicaid cuts

play audio
Play

Thursday, January 16, 2025   

Congressional Republicans are taking a hard look at Medicaid as they pursue spending cuts and a new report shows how the public health program is preventing care access from further eroding in rural South Dakota and elsewhere.

The incoming Trump administration promises major cuts, and a House GOP proposal floats a nearly $2.5 trillion Medicaid reduction.

Findings from Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families show people in rural areas are more likely than metro populations to receive health coverage through Medicaid.

Katy Kozhimannil, professor of health and policy management at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, said reimbursements keep rural providers operating, limiting a key patient burden.

"In most parts of the Dakotas, we have vast, vast areas where people have to travel great distances to access basic care," Kozhimannil pointed out.

The report also found Medicaid is a significant health coverage source for Native Americans. Two-thirds of Indigenous elders in South Dakota's Oglala Lakota County are covered by the program. Some House Republicans insist the programs need reform to avoid a fiscal collapse. But skeptics said drastic changes are a way to offset a planned extension of federal tax cuts.

Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, said Medicaid helps recipients get ahead of health challenges through preventive care, as opposed to letting conditions worsen.

"People wind up sicker and then they're in the emergency room and children can't get their asthma inhalers and they miss school," Alker explained.

By keeping healthy enough for work and creating better health outcomes for kids, Alker argued policymakers need to realize programs such as Medicaid are not government waste.

"In the long term, it's a much better investment of taxpayer dollars," Alker contended. "Because it'll pay dividends to make sure that these families are getting the care they need."

Disclosure: Georgetown University Center for Children and Families contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, and Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A Sierra Club report found moving to offshore wind instead of building up natural gas can reduce 42% (14 million short tons) of annual CO2 emissions from New England's power sector. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Connecticut groups are rallying today against a natural gas pipeline expansion. Project Maple would extend Enbridge's natural-gas pipeline …


Social Issues

play sound

In rural Mississippi, where education disparities run deep, community leaders are stepping up to fill the gaps left by limited resources and …

Environment

play sound

Environmental groups are raising alarms as the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township moves closer to becoming the first decommissioned nuclear pl…


Around 72% of Montanans believe workers' unions help Montana's economy, according to a January poll from the bipartisan firm RABA Research. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

A January survey of Montanans showed a large majority support workers' rights, even as several bills that could affect them move through the state …

Social Issues

play sound

Events for Black History Month are being held around the U.S. In South Dakota, leaders of the state's main history museum, which is currently under …

A Red America, Blue America Research survey revealed a majority of voters, 52%, would be less likely to support legislators who voted to fund private education with tax dollars. (Rawpixel/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A recent online survey revealed strong opposition among Tennessee voters toward expansion of the state's private-school voucher program. More than 50…

Social Issues

play sound

A northwest Texas family is waiting to hear from agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a recent traffic stop. Jose is in the country …

Environment

play sound

West Virginia has thousands of unplugged and improperly plugged oil and gas wells that could leak and contaminate groundwater, potentially harming …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021