An estimated 430 rural hospitals, including 17 in Iowa, are in danger of closing unless their financial outlook improves, a situation that has broad ramifications not just for access to health care but those communities’ economic livelihoods. Dozens of rural hospitals have already closed nationwide this decade. About two-thirds of rural hospitals now at high risk of shuttering are considered essential because they serve vulnerable populations, are geographically isolated and employ a sizeable share of residents.
Read MoreThe Chartis Center for Rural Health has unveiled its 2019 Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and 15 Iowa CAHs are included in the list, a number far higher than any other state. CAHs are typically small facilities that serve large rural areas, often one or more counties. Iowa has 82 CAHs. Chartis also announced its Top 100 Rural and Community Hospitals and that list includes four Iowa hospitals.
Read MoreConsumers shopping for insurance online last fall were most often directed to websites that promote individual health plans that didn’t meet consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act. “It was disturbing, but not unexpected, to find such a high proportion of misleading ads and come-ons, That raises the risk that consumers could be duped into buying health insurance that they think offers comprehensive and secure coverage but does not.”
Read MoreEven as the opioid epidemic continues, the toll of methamphetamine use is on the rise, too. The rate of overdose deaths involving the stimulant more than tripled from 2011 to 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. But unlike the opioid epidemic — for which medications exist to help combat addiction — medical providers have few such tools to help methamphetamine users survive and recover.
Read More