Federal Medicaid cuts could exact a heavy toll on psychiatric units at hospitals across the country, many of which are already struggling to keep their doors open but provide essential mental health care to people who need it. Psychiatric units are costly and, like labor and delivery services, typically lose money for hospitals and tend […]
Author Archives: Stateline
Posted inNews
‘Medical conscience’ bills would let providers refuse more health care
Legislation in at least eight states, including Kentucky, would expand the rights of doctors, nurses, hospitals and even insurance companies to refuse to provide or pay for care — from contraception and fertility services to medical marijuana and childhood vaccines — that conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs. For years, most states have had […]
Posted inNews
Can states, and a little bit of faith, convert church land into affordable housing?
Growing up in a religious family, Florida Republican state Sen. Alexis Calatayud has seen how many church communities are no longer anchored to a single building in the way they used to be. Her small prayer groups take place over chats these days, not necessarily in person or sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in pews. With churches in […]
Posted inNews
Microschools are growing in popularity, but state regulations haven’t caught up
When Siri Fiske founded the Mysa Microschool in Washington, D.C., in 2016, there wasn’t a widely accepted term for her small, one-room schoolhouse model. Now, the school is referred to on its website as one of the first microschools in the nation, and Fiske has seen a growing microschool movement since the COVID-19 pandemic. See […]
Posted inNews
The most likely Medicaid cuts would hit rural areas the hardest
Working-age adults who live in small towns and rural areas are more likely to be covered by Medicaid than their counterparts in cities, creating a dilemma for Republicans looking to make deep cuts to the health care program. About 72 million people — nearly 1 in 5 people in the United States — are enrolled in Medicaid, […]
Posted inNews
Kentucky among 3 states where voters blunted ‘school choice’ momentum
Voters in Colorado and Nebraska joined Kentuckians in putting the brakes on the school choice movement last week, rejecting ballot measures that would have instituted or expanded state support for parents to send their kids to private schools or protected other school choice options. There are at least 75 private school choice programs available across […]
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Self-driving cars aren’t here yet, but Kentucky is among states getting the rules ready
Early one morning last year, as state Rep. Josh Bray left his small town of Mount Vernon in southeastern Kentucky to make his way to the Capitol in Frankfort, he decided to count how many drivers he saw texting or distracted by something else. He quit counting after 24 when he saw a truck driver […]
Posted inElections
State lawmakers eye promise, pitfalls of AI ahead of November elections
Inside a white-walled conference room, a speaker surveyed hundreds of state lawmakers and policy influencers, asking whether artificial intelligence poses a threat to the elections in their states. The results were unambiguous: 80% of those who answered a live poll said yes. In a follow-up question, nearly 90% said their state laws weren’t adequate to […]