When Mike O’Neil opened his bicycle repair shop in Muncie, Indiana, the Cardinal Greenway trail just outside its window stretched only 2 miles south of the shop. Today, it extends 33 miles (53 kilometers) beyond that, but the ultimate vision is far grander. O’Neil hopes the trail born from eastern Indiana’s old railroad tracks will … Read more
WASHINGTON — As Salvatore LoGrande fought cancer and all the pain that came with it, his daughters promised to keep him in the white, pitched roof house he worked so hard to buy all those decades ago. So, Sandy LoGrande thought it was a mistake when, a year after her father’s death, Massachusetts billed her … Read more
As rural hospitals continue to struggle financially, a new type of hospital is slowly taking root, especially in the Southeast. Rural emergency hospitals receive more than $3 million in federal funding a year and higher Medicare reimbursements in exchange for closing all inpatient beds and providing 24/7 emergency care. While that makes it easier for … Read more
PHOENIX — A Navajo state senator said Friday she’s hoping for final approval of her bill to tighten regulations for rehab facilities amid widespread fraud that has bilked hundreds of millions in Arizona Medicaid dollars and scammed hundreds of Native Americans seeking help for addictions. Senate Bill 1655, sponsored by Sen. Theresa Hatathlie, was unanimously … Read more
JACKSON, Miss. — A new Mississippi law will allow earlier Medicaid coverage for pregnant women in an effort to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies in a poor state with the nation’s worst rate of infant mortality. The “presumptive eligility” legislation signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves will become law July 1. It … Read more
WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is issuing a budget plan Monday aimed at getting voters’ attention: tax breaks for families, lower health care costs, smaller deficits and higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations. Unlikely to pass the House and Senate to become law, the proposal for fiscal 2025 is an election-year … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor London Breed on Thursday pledged even more improvements under a pair of controversial public safety proposals voters approved this week that expand police powers and force some welfare recipients into drug treatment, marking a shift from the city’s staunchly progressive policies. She also made the case in her annual State of … Read more
MECCA, Calif. — When Limba Contreras moved to the desert community of Oasis, California, about 50 years ago, her family relied on a water cooler to keep temperatures inside their home comfortable. Other times, they sprayed each other with a hose outside. But when the heat topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 Celsius), the cooler … Read more
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi’s Republican-led House passed a bill Wednesday that would expand Medicaid benefits to hundreds of thousands more residents in one of the poorest states in the U.S. — a landmark shift after state leaders refused to consider the policy for years. The bill’s passage was greeted by applause in the House chamber … Read more
TOPEKA, Kan. — When Lilly Miller was in elementary school, teachers told her parents they needed to immediately sign up their youngest daughter, who has Down syndrome, for a wait list so the state would pay for a day program when she grew up. The teachers predicted a six-year wait. The Millers have been waiting … Read more
