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As rural maternity care units close, Missouri families lose options
For Dr. Kelsey Davis-Humes, practicing medicine in rural Missouri is a way of life. She’s on call almost constantly in northeast Missouri’s Scotland County, where she cares for patients from their birth until their death. As an osteopath practicing in a rural community, part of her job includes caring for patients throughout their pregnancies. “I […]
Rural hospitals in Missouri struggle to turn a profit. Medicaid cuts could force some to close
Missouri’s 67 rural hospitals are pondering a dramatically different future under President Donald Trump’s new budget plan. The recently approved budget bill will slash federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. By some estimates, it could lead to 8.6 million people nationwide losing health coverage. Various estimates conclude that between […]
Looming Medicaid work requirements could worsen Missouri backlogs in social services
Kevin Wehner has been there for Missourians as they have dealt with unanswered questions, long wait times and the confusion as they enrolled for government insurance. He was there as the Affordable Care Act marketplace came online, and as Missouri slowly expanded its Medicaid program, known as MO HealthNet. He’s witnessed Missouri struggling for years […]
How does Missouri’s investment in a behavioral health crisis network improve mental health care?
For years, Missouri has sought to address a growing mental and behavioral health crisis that touches every corner of the state. In 2024, Missouri was ranked 38th nationwide when it came to prevalence of mental illness and overall access to treatment. So the state made multimillion-dollar investments to improve responses when Missourians are in moments […]
Opioid overdose deaths drop in Missouri, but rural areas fight stigmas, barriers to care
After years of exponential growth, opioid overdose deaths in Missouri are dropping. While health care workers, community groups and other officials say many factors may contribute to the drop in opioid overdose deaths, they agree that access to overdose-reversing drugs like naloxone, often provided under the brand name Narcan, is saving lives. “I do think […]
Air quality worsened in Missouri from 2021 to 2023
Missouri’s air quality worsened from 2021 to 2023, with wildfires, warmer temperatures and dangerous air pollutants fouling the air Missourians breathe. The American Lung Association’s 2025 State of the Air report found that the St. Louis and Kansas City areas both had poorer outcomes for some measures of air quality compared to previous years. St. […]
Primary care shortage has an outsized impact on rural Missouri
Communities across the country are suffering from a lack of primary care providers, and Missouri is no exception. In fact, it ranks fourth worst nationwide in terms of its primary care provider shortage. All but seven Missouri counties have shortages of primary care providers. Those mostly rural counties that lack providers see higher rates of chronic […]
A highway can make or break a Missouri downtown. Just ask Oak Grove
In a video on her store’s Facebook page in late March, Oak Grove shop owner Jill Easley announced she would be closing her storefront earlier than planned — later that day. Easley decided to shut down her store in downtown Oak Grove after more than eight years on South Broadway. She relocated her business to […]
As bird flu spreads, Missourians pay the price at the grocery store
For some people in rural Missouri, soaring egg prices have little impact on their shopping habits. They have backyard chickens that save them the trouble of dealing with a nationwide shortage. But for those who don’t have access to a homegrown grocery store in their backyard, rising prices mean changes to their weekly shopping list. […]
Cigarettes, alcohol use dropping among Missouri teens
Missouri teens were less interested in cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana in 2024 than in previous years. Vapes were the most reported among teens when asked what they had used in the last 30 days, with 9.1% of respondents saying they used one. The results of the state Department of Mental Health’s Missouri Student Survey were […]
In some Missouri counties, 911 doesn’t exist. Upgrades to emergency dispatching will change that
The average caller would never know, but dialing 911 during an emergency isn’t possible in several Missouri counties. While the call will go through, in parts of southeast Missouri, the number is instead rerouted to a traditional 10-digit landline. But that won’t be the case for long. Thanks to federal funds, 911 dispatchers and call […]
Prescription delivery in Missouri faces delays under USPS rural service plan
A snowstorm that swept western Missouri last year left a patient waiting on critical medication they needed to ward off seizures. That patient ended up in a hospital to deliver a dose of the drug. Now, with an increasing number of rural residents relying on mail service to get their prescriptions — and the U.S. […]