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North Carolina’s radical Medicaid reinvention
Eighty percent of what affects our health happens outside of a medical setting. The state is investing $650 million to address the social drivers of health.

Can Medicaid solve the “Minnesota Paradox?”
The state is one of the best places to live in terms of education, health, and quality of life—unless you’re Black. Minnesota Medicaid is trying to change that.

California takes a major step toward universal coverage
California is about to give insurance coverage to every low-income resident, documented or not.

The path to universal access
South Africa is committed to single-payer health care, but achieving it won’t be easy.
Latest

Florida law sows misinformation among immigrants about health care access
The law requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to ask for patients’ immigration status. It doesn’t require patients to answer.

Maternal mortality is soaring. Home visits might help.
Community health workers’ visits made a difference, especially for Black mothers, in Michigan.

The free school lunch paradox
Studies from around the world show U.S.-supported free school meals improve health, education, and economic development. So why are they at risk of cuts back home?
Most Popular

Healthcare is a human right – but not in the United States
Abortion rights are just the latest casualty of U.S. failure to ensure universal and equitable access to healthcare.

Let’s end the war on obesity
The way America fights obesity is increasing stigma and leading to harmful behavior. For truly better health, we need a new approach.

“Ultra-Processed People” hopes to disgust Americans into dumping poor diets
British physician Chris van Tulleken argues ultra-processed foods have negative long-term effects on our health.
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Books

A fungal pandemic won’t be “The Last of Us,” but it will be dangerous
We live in harmony with most fungi, but a small minority threaten human and environmental health.

“The Forgotten Girls” of the American Ozarks
A new memoir takes a personal look at why today’s generation of rural, low-income Americans won’t live as long as their parents.

Author Clancy Martin on “How Not to Kill Yourself”
Novelist Clancy Martin describes how he’s coped with addiction, suicidal thinking, and survived ten suicide attempts.

“Wonder Drug” draws back the veil on thalidomide’s hidden American victims
Jennifer Vanderbes’s new book reexamines a dangerous drug’s impact in the U.S.

Inside the Sisyphean crisis of homelessness
Author Tracy Kidder paints an empathic portrait of people experiencing homelessness and one man who chose to care for them—Dr. Jim O’Connell.
Gender & Health

To protect gender-affirming care, we must learn from trans history
The current culture war isn’t the first time gender-affirming care has come under fire. It’s time to break the cycle.

Women in global health are the labor, but not leaders. Time’s up.
A UN report says it’ll take 140 years for women to shatter the global health glass ceiling. We can’t afford to wait that long.

Meet six women fighting to stop the global backslide on women’s rights
The women’s rights movement faces growing threats from rising authoritarianism around the world. These six women aren’t backing down.
Mental Health

U.S. kids face a mental health crisis – a bold new law points to a solution
Delaware seeks to transform mental health care with a first-in-the-nation law. A pediatric psychologist says it could provide vital support for children with mental health concerns.

New gun deaths data in U.S. show continued rise in suicides
Gun control policies aimed at stopping mass shootings could also prevent a less visible tragedy: suicide.

I was alone and sick of it. Technology to the rescue?
Robo-companions and technology assistants are being used to ease loneliness. Our writer found the experience has a long way to go.
Fall Issue 2023
On reinventing Medicaid, using social media for good, and South Africa's path to universal health care
Reproductive Rights

One year post-Roe, how can policymakers protect abortion access?
Anti-abortion groups are pushing for state control over reproductive health. We need a new vision in order to respond.

#WeCount: Measuring Dobbs’ impact on abortion access
The Society of Family Planning started collecting abortion data in the months before Roe was overturned. Here’s what we know one year in.

Abortion bans trap victims in a cycle of domestic violence
Sexual abuse survivor Eirliani Abdul Rahman says overturning Roe v. Wade does immediate harm to victims of both sexual and domestic violence
Policy & Practice

How Indigenous Knowledge may shape the future of U.S. policy
Native leaders welcome the federal government’s move, even as they remain skeptical the effort will outlast Biden’s term.

Climate change puts chief heat officers in the hot seat
As intense heat waves become more common, look to a new position to lead the response.

We can help 5 million kids keep their health insurance—here’s how.
Kids are healthier when their parents are insured, too. Here’s how we can keep more kids and families covered as pandemic-era Medicaid coverage ends.