skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, February 17, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

At Least 11 Dead After Severe Flooding Sweeps The South; Hundreds Of Thousands Without Power; Abandoned Mine Land program frozen as Appalachia faces severe flooding; Solar power gives MN resort new blood, new life.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Top Trump officials set to meet with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia over the Ukraine war. The GOP budget resolution is at risk as moderates weigh out consequences. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he's "going nowhere."

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural America struggles with opioids and homelessness in unexpected ways, Colorado's Lariat Ditch could help spur local recreation, and book deliveries revive rural communities hit by Hurricane Helene.

Access to Health Care: The Best Gift for Mom?

play audio
Play

Friday, May 8, 2015   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - As Ohioans celebrate their mothers this weekend, state lawmakers are considering cuts that could affect the health of soon-to-be moms and their babies. The proposed two-year budget narrows Medicaid eligibility for pregnancy.

Columbus Health Commissioner Dr. Teresa Long said the cuts are of concern, given that Ohio has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the nation. She said prenatal care reduces premature birth, the leading cause of infant mortality.

"These are months that are critical to the woman having a great start to her pregnancy, to be sure that every health issue is addressed during the pregnancy," she said. "Women who do not have adequate coverage have poorer birth outcomes."

Lawmakers are suggesting reducing eligibility from 200 percent of poverty to 138 percent, with the notion that women can seek coverage in the health insurance exchange. However, open enrollment is once a year and some women could go without coverage during pregnancy.

Long said late prenatal care, maternal stress and low-income status are among factors associated with pre-term birth.

Judith Warren, director of Health Care Access Now in Cincinnati, said women living in poverty do not have a lot of disposable income, so without Medicaid they may be unable to seek care.

"To have the burden of expecting to pay out of pocket for premiums and other health care needs will just put them in more of a fragile economic position." she said.

The proposed budget also reduces Medicaid eligibility for family planning, which Long said impacts a woman's health before and after pregnancy.

"It's critical that women have access to be able to safely space their births," she said, "so family-planning services as well as other kinds of preventive health and health promotion care for women is critical."

Medicaid supports more than 40 percent of births nationally, and research finds that Medicaid can reduce infant mortality for high-risk women.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Data from Indiana's Marion County Public Health Department show of the 124 overdose deaths in April-June 2024, 71 were white men, 36 were Black men and 6 were Hispanic women. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

The incidence of drug overdose is decreasing in Indiana and one reason could be the efforts of an organization offering free training to anyone willin…


Social Issues

play sound

By Kim Kobersmith for The Daily Yonder.Broadcast version by Brett Peveto for South Carolina News Service for the Daily Yonder-Public News Service Coll…

Environment

play sound

Wyoming is one of several Western states where some lawmakers arguing states should have more control of the federally managed public lands within the…


Environment

play sound

By Amy McDermott for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.Broadcast version by Mark Richardson for for California News Service reporting…

Libraries are tailored to their local communities, Varga says, such as a local library in Virginia Beach offering surfboard rentals. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

February is Library Lovers Month - and libraries across the Commonwealth are encouraging their long-time and new patrons to celebrate. Lisa Varga…

Social Issues

play sound

According to the Immigration Policy Tracking Project, the Trump administration has taken 130 actions on immigration so far this term. Groups in …

Environment

play sound

A Utah legislator has introduced a bill to increase transparency for consumers in the Beehive State when purchasing cultivated meat products…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021