New Numbers Reveal Huge Disparities in Opioid Prescribing
A town in southwest Virginia has the highest per capita opioid prescribing level in the country. New state prescribing rules could help change that.
Trump Makes It Official: The Opioid Epidemic Is a National Emergency
The White House says the action allows the administration to “use all appropriate emergency and other authorities to respond to the crisis caused by the opioid epidemic.”
Local Health Officials Sound Alarm on Trump Efforts to Defund Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Baltimore, Seattle, Los Angeles and Portland will all be affected. But health departments aren’t letting funding for these projects go down without a fight.
Trump Didn’t Declare the Opioid Crisis a National Emergency. What If He Had?
The president hasn’t yet used his powers under the Stafford Act, something his own special commission has said is its “most urgent recommendation.”
Nashville Mayor Opens Up About the Tragedy of Losing Her Son
STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | West Virginia’s new effort to reduce fire fatalities; women are underrepresented in Utah city halls; and despite an economic development disaster, S.C. county isn’t “going to curl up and die.”
America's Opioid Epidemic is Way Worse Than We Realized
Opioid mortality rates may be 24% higher than the official stats.
Wildfires Cloak Pacific Northwest in Smoky Haze as Fire Threats Increase
STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | L.A.’s structural deficit; N.C.’s attorney general forced to slash 10% of staff; and a “notable lack of hellfire” from satanist at city council meeting.
For Rural Veterans, New Approaches to Health Care
Rural veterans are far older and far more likely to be disabled than other rural residents. New programs across the country show promise in ensuring that they get the health care they need.
Which States Have Breastfeeding Laws on the Books?
Eighteen states mandate that hospitals implement baby-friendly practices. Is your state one of them?
This County Would Have Seen Its Opioid Overdose Rate Double
Erie County, N.Y. Executive Mark Poloncarz says his jurisdiction was on its way to 550 overdose deaths in 2016. Here’s what the county government did to keep that from happening.
Public Health Has Dodged a Bullet
Funding to fight lead poisoning, opioid addiction, and chronic disease could have vanished with the “skinny repeal” of the ACA.
Trump Warns He’ll Protect Alaska’s Environment, if Murkowski Doesn’t Back Obamacare Repeal
STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP: Missouri still refers to Asian Americans as 'Oriental'; Election Integrity vice chair's credibility questioned; no more parties in Miami Beach . . . after 2 a.m.?
Philadelphia Ranks High for Smoking and Other Unhealthy Behaviors
Federal data show how Philly compares with other big cities.
Arkansas Tops Most Other States When It Comes to This Connectivity Metric
STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP: Bulletproof glass for a Georgia city hall; Indianapolis revenge shootings; and a small town closes a big legal loophole in its municipal code.
Too Many People Are Calling 911. Here's a Better Way.
Memphis is working on an alternative for the expensive “you-call, we-haul” approach.
Code for America’s New California Partnership Targets Food Stamp ‘Participation Gap’
GetCalFresh.org allows Golden State residents to apply for SNAP benefits via mobile phone. “You can do it wherever you are.”
CBO: Senate Repeal-and-Delay Bill Would Cause 32 Million to Lose Coverage
And, a separate Kaiser Family Foundation study found the bill would cut federal Medicaid funding to states by $700 billion over the next decade.
How Job Loss Can Lead to Drug Use
Several studies suggest the opioid crisis might be at least partly the result of widespread unemployment.
Mayors to Senate Republicans: ‘Start From Scratch’
“If you didn’t like the previous GOP health care plans to repeal the [Affordable Care Act] and to replace it, you’re definitely not going to like the one that actually just last night went down in flames,” said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
Missouri Will Finally Have A State-Level Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
Gov. Eric Greitens announced the details of his program—which notably neither doctors, nor pharmacists will be able to access—in an executive order announcement on Monday.
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