Health Care
American kids are less likely to reach adulthood than foreign peers
Babies and children in the United States are nearly twice as likely to die before reaching adulthood compared with their peers in other wealthy countries, according to a new study. The health of U.S. children has deteriorated since the early 2000s across a range of measures, researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University […]
Missouri judge weighing whether new abortion ban should appear on 2026 ballot
A Cole County judge heard arguments Wednesday over whether a proposed ban on abortion set to go to voters next year should be thrown out or revised over a provision targeting gender-affirming care for minors. The ACLU of Missouri believes the proposal, which was drafted by state lawmakers, violates the state constitution because it includes […]
Trump administration says CDC chief ousted. Her lawyer says she hasn’t resigned or been fired
WASHINGTON — The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t appear inclined to leave her post, despite the Trump administration announcing Wednesday that she’s no longer running one of the country’s top public health agencies. Attorneys for Susan Monarez, who received Senate confirmation in late July, posted that she hasn’t been fired […]
‘We are sweating’: Missouri kindergarten vaccination rates fall below immunity threshold
The percentage of kindergarten students in Missouri vaccinated against diseases like measles and whooping cough is dropping each year as more parents turn in non-medical exemptions prior to their child’s first day of school. Only 90% of Missouri kindergarten students were immunized against measles, mumps and rubella last year, according to the Missouri Department of […]
As Republicans spar over IVF, some turn to obscure MAHA-backed alternative
Republican support for in vitro fertilization, after surging in the wake of a 2024 Alabama Supreme Court decision that threatened the procedure, may be splintering as President Donald Trump retreats from his IVF promises and more far-right voices gain ground. Earlier this year, conservatives in the Tennessee House staged an eleventh-hour skirmish over an IVF […]
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 […]
Pesticide politics: Inside the corporate push to limit liability
With billions of dollars at stake, Bayer has gone on the offensive. Billboards along major highways. A social media offensive. Tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations in Missouri alone. And a major push in at least 11 states to change pesticide labeling laws. Such efforts by the agricultural biotech company and others are […]
The unseen harvest: Pesticides, cancer and rural Missouri’s health crisis
Nestled in Missouri’s Bootheel is the small town of Kennett, the Dunklin County seat. With just over 10,000 residents, it’s a close-knit community where good-natured teasing is a common show of affection. Once a sprawling swampland, it has since been transformed into an expanse of flat, fertile fields where agriculture stands as the backbone of […]
Missourians buying health insurance on ACA marketplace face highest rate hikes since 2018
If you are one of the 617,000 people in Missouri or Kansas buying health insurance on healthcare.gov, expect sticker shock when next year’s premiums are announced. With few exceptions, insurance companies selling health coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace plan to increase rates in 2026. In the Kansas City area, all but one carrier […]
State leaders brace for ‘heavy lift’ from Medicaid, food stamp changes
BOSTON — During this year’s budget cycle, Oklahoma state Sen. John Haste said lawmakers had two major things on their minds. “Number one was tax cuts. Number two, what the hell is going on in Washington?” he told a national gathering of state lawmakers last week in Boston. While Oklahoma lawmakers secured another round of […]
Women in states with abortion bans are the biggest users of abortion telemedicine
As conservative lawmakers work to restrict online access to abortion medication, a new report shows how popular it has become for women who live in states that have outlawed abortion. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin led a team that analyzed 15 months of prescription data from Aid Access, one of the largest […]
Missouri AG erred in asking Supreme Court to overturn order legalizing abortion
The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to take up Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s request to reinstate restrictions on abortion in the state, ordering him to turn to a state appeals court instead. Bailey was hoping the state’s highest court would block a temporary injunction issued by Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang on July […]