Don't miss this from my @stateline.org colleague @nhassanein.bsky.social. Would love, love, love to see units like this in Alabama & other states with huge maternal care deserts stateline.org/2026/04/03/i...

Proud to be part of this reporting series. The amount of taxpayer dollars being funneled to these centers is astounding. And many of them do good work within their scope. But this public largesse hasn’t been accompanied by robust oversight. Read more:

Have you or someone you know had SNAP (food stamps) benefits stolen? I'd love to talk with you for a story I'm working on, about what states are doing to address SNAP fraud. You can reach me at [email protected]

Some folks worry that ICE’s use of Medicaid data will cause widespread fear among immigrant families, keeping them from seeking the health care that states have said they’re eligible to receive. My latest:

Behold: the first-ever list of news outlets that have banned generative AI in their reporting. As of today, this is literally information that you cannot find on Google. My goal is to fill the starter pack, so please send over suggestions with supporting evidence! go.bsky.app/8cn1XfT

Via Anna Claire Vollers and Stateline: A Medicare pilot program will allow private companies to use artificial intelligence to review older Americans’ requests for certain medical care — and will reward the companies when they deny it. https://ow.ly/P4GV50XBPak

(1/4) ICE detention has become a black box. Oversight has been gutted. Families are being separated. Pregnant and postpartum women report starving in custody, freezing cells, invasive procedures, miscarriages, and their pleas for help going unanswered.

Call for sources: I'm looking to interview folks who've sought health care at crisis pregnancy centers, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and want to talk about their experience. The center can be located anywhere. If you or someone you know might be interested, please email or send me a DM.

My latest, in which patients’ robots fight insurers’ robots over whether human care is covered 🙃

Via Anna Claire Vollers & Stateline: The Trump administration wants states to police their own education of students with disabilities, a move many teachers and parents fear will strip crucial federal oversight and deny vulnerable children services guaranteed under law. https://ow.ly/Kuok50XmsUI

I don't live anywhere near Idaho but I'll read anything @pfannyyy.bsky.social writes. This is a great look at how state and federal policies converge in a one-two-three-four punch to a state's entire health care system.

I love this: Every senior at an Alabama high school applied for college through a new program. The result: A record $31.7 million in scholarships at a school that's traditionally had a low rate of kids going to college. Via the must-read @trishcrain.bsky.social aldailynews.com/i-got-in-dir...

Really good piece here from @acvollers.bsky.social. Medicaid is foundational to health care in Alabama, particularly for children. When it’s limited or restrained, it’s usually children who suffer.

My latest:

Paging Sir Charles 🐅

#NoKings event in Fairhope, Al. A woman was arrested for "lewd conduct" because she was dressed in penis suit with a sign that said "No dick-tator" 3 cops on a 53 yo woman.

Reporter tip from Vollers: Don’t stop at “coverage exists.” Ask providers what #Medicaid actually pays. Reimbursement levels determine whether #postpartum mental-health visits happen at all & cuts to some groups ripple through whole families. #Journalism #MaternalHealth

From @acvollers.bsky.social: Two deaths by fire this year have thrown a spotlight on the largely unregulated world of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. stateline.org/2025/09/15/d...

Via @acvollers.bsky.social and @stateline.org: Rural hospitals are less likely to offer obstetric services after they’ve been acquired by a larger health system, leading to mixed outcomes for mothers and babies, according to new research.

Incredible reporting from my colleague Alex Brown on the ICE raid at an active wildfire, and the firefighters who are convinced it was a trap.

From @acvollers.bsky.social: 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. stateline.org/2025/08/25/a...

Two different people (state legislative aide and a university prof) addressed me as “Anne” in response emails this morning. Like…my real name is right there in the signature of my initial email. I don’t expect strangers to get my double name but you’d think they’d at least get “Anna” correct.

As more hospitals have gobbled up private physician practices, costs for childbirth and other services have gone up, according to a new study. @acvollers.bsky.social reports: stateline.org/2025/08/05/w...

When hospitals buy physician practices, prices go up scdailygazette.com/2025/08/06/w... by @stateline.org's @acvollers.bsky.social

Over 11.8M could lose #healthcare as Trump's #bigbeautifulbill would cut $1T from Medicaid over the next decade. People in the Delta say – national leaders are completely out of touch with the reality of what it’s like to live in rural America. @statesnewsroom.com stateline.org/2025/07/03/m...

In his budget for the coming fiscal year, President Donald Trump has recommended eliminating some programs that fall under the Older Americans Act, a landmark 1965 law that provides social and meal services for older people, reports @acvollers.bsky.social‬.

Congress is considering axing the funding for the Senior Community Service Employment Program, which provides paid part-time work at local nonprofits and government agencies for people 55 and older with low incomes. @acvollers.bsky.social reports: stateline.org/2025/06/23/a...

‘Expensive and complicated’: Most rural hospitals no longer deliver babies | #ksleg via @acvollers.bsky.social kansasreflector.com/2025/06/15/e...

Private equity companies have gobbled up group homes and other services for people with disabilities, attracting the attention of state and federal regulators across the nation and alarming advocates. @acvollers.bsky.social reports: stateline.org/2025/05/16/p...

Via @acvollers.bsky.social and @stateline.org: People with intellectual or developmental disabilities have suffered abuse, neglect and even death while under the care of private equity-owned providers, according to a recent report from watchdog group Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

The creation of Medicaid isn’t typically considered a civil rights win. But the idea of health care as a human right was a part of the Civil Rights Movement, as was the idea that universal coverage could help dismantle racial inequities. @acvollers.bsky.social reports: stateline.org/2025/05/07/i...

Via @acvollers.bsky.social and @stateline.org: 23andMe's genetic data on 15 million customers is up for sale, stoking fears about how it might be used and prompting attorneys general from more than a dozen states to warn 23andMe users: Delete your data.

How 404 Media Is Navigating 'Economic Headwinds' and what we’ve changed 🔗 www.404media.co/how-404-medi...

Via @acvollers.bsky.social and @stateline.org: Some Americans who rely on Medicaid to pay for their health care don’t realize their insurance is funded by that very program, which congressional Republicans are looking to shrink.

Millions of Americans are unaware that their health coverage will disappear with cuts to #Medicaid—the #publichealth ramifications of this can't be overstated. A fifth of Americans are on Medicaid. Some of them have no idea. stateline.org/2025/04/09/a... by @acvollers.bsky.social via @stateline.org

Around the nation, doctors, lawmakers, advocates and patients are ringing alarm bells over congressional Republicans’ proposals to slash billions from federal Medicaid funding as they look to offset trillions in proposed tax cuts. @acvollers.bsky.social reports: stateline.org/2025/03/28/m...

Captain Bootyhead 🫡 www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/n...

Alrighty, what fetal personhood bills have we got this session? …Oh. stateline.org/2025/03/06/g... for @stateline.org @statesnewsroom.com

A push by Republican attorneys general in 17 states to strike down part of a federal law that protects disabled people from discrimination has prompted an outcry from advocates, parents and some local officials. The latest from @acvollers.bsky.social: stateline.org/2025/02/20/g...

Via @acvollers.bsky.social and @stateline.org: Alabama joined 16 other Republican AGs over the Biden administration’s addition of a gender identity-related disorder to the disabilities protected under a section of a 1973 federal law. But a backlash has erupted.

The duality of man

ICYMI: @stateline.org reporter @acvollers.bsky.social looks at states that expanded #Medicaid where some now want to claw that back.

Florida is the first state to allow doctors to deliver babies via c-section at out-of-hospital birth centers. Lawmakers say it could improve care access, but a private equity-backed physician group lobbied for the law, prompting concerns, @acvollers.bsky.social reports. stateline.org/2025/01/29/n...

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On paper, Alabama’s pregnancy Medicaid covers mental health issues like postpartum depression. But in practice, help remains out of reach until conditions bloom into crises. Glad to join with the @alabamareflector.com for their new series on AL mental health alabamareflector.com/2025/01/30/m...

I live in a government town and lots of Big Brother talk today. Friends here angry, worried, upset over the email they got today, encouraging them to rat out any DEI-supporting coworkers. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

Every woman journalist I know has a MeToo story we couldn’t publish because the legal risks were strangling.

In the rural Alabama Black Belt, a small town is fighting to save what could be its last chance for local health care. It's determined not to become another statistic in the nation's rural health care crisis: stateline.org/2024/12/23/a... for @stateline.org & @statesnewsroom.com