Health Care

Missouri Democrats and health groups warn that the ban, effective August 28, will hit low-income residents hardest, as they depend on clinics for health services and screenings.

A bill that would improve health care access for Missouri women almost died in the House after some lawmakers conflated birth control legislation with abortion medication.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital opened its first adult sickle cell treatment center. The referral-based outpatient center will provide IV infusions to people with sickle cell disease who need immediate relief from pain without waiting at emergency rooms.

Illinois hospitals routinely skirt one of the nation’s strongest laws protecting victims of sexual assault — including Alton Memorial and Blessing Hospital in Quincy.

Missouri is one of 19 states that has banned gender-affirming care for minors. The state has proven to be ripe for laws limiting transgender rights, which are often engineered by a network of out-of-state conservative advocacy groups.

Since the early 2000s, health care systems have used technology originally made for law enforcement to combat misuse of prescription meds — yet the opioid epidemic continues to worsen.

In Missouri, legislation introduced by State Rep. Melanie Stinnett, R-Springfield, aims to establish a gold carding program for medical treatment and prescriptions.

The state-funded health care programs serving certain low-income noncitizens have declined by tens of millions of dollars in recent months as the state rolled out new copay and coinsurance requirements this week.

Interviews with advocates, applicants, participants and experts reveal that increased pressure on the social service agency’s capacity has intensified bureaucratic hurdles for low-income and low-resource Missourians trying to access government health insurance.

The head of the U.S. Census Bureau says the latest census data can make health more equitable in Illinois and across the country.