Award-Winning Health Journalism

Medicaid’s Many Names

Medicaid Map

Medicaid covers 83 million people in the United States, 44% of whom are children. People living in nursing homes are also commonly on Medicaid. The program covers more than 60% of nursing home residents, 20% of assisted living facility residents, and over half of long-term care facility residents. Yet many Medicaid recipients don’t realize they’re […]

Funding Cuts Outrage

Healthcare workers and disability rights advocates march outside of Trump Tower in Chicago.

Health and home care workers protest cuts to Medicaid: ‘It’s not a luxury; it’s a necessity’ Rebekah Mahon, an Illinois Division of Rehabilitation Services personal assistant and single mother, relies on Medicaid and SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to support herself and her 2-year-old child. Recently, though, she says she lost her SNAP benefits […]

Q&A: Federal Cuts to Medicaid, ACA

A man in scrubs and a surgical mask holds a new baby for his daughter to see.

University of Chicago professor shares realities of the “Big Beautiful Bill” healthcare impacts Medicaid covers about 83 million people, Medicare about 66 million, and nearly 24 million people are enrolled in Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans. Combined, these programs support nearly half of all Americans. But the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill” puts them […]

HHS Secretary Power

A hand with a blue surgical glove on it reaches up to a woman's bare hand.

Health and Human Services secretary influences every aspect of America’s health Above photo: Declaring a state of public health emergency − and mobilizing resources to address it − is a power of the HHS secretary. Frank Franklin II/AP Photo By Angela Mattie, Quinnipiac University The secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, […]

Care Quandary: Quality Rating Systems Can Help You Make the Best Decisions

senior care

When your aging parent or loved one starts forgetting to take medications, lets unopened bills pile up, becomes agitated or aggressive, has trouble driving and struggles getting up and down the stairs, they’re showing some of the telltale signs that it’s time to start looking for a health and rehabilitation community (HRC). For many of us, […]

Financial planning for special-needs children

Father walking with disabled son in wheelchair at park

Jessica and Nathan Pugh’s 5-year-old son, Lachlan, has a rare brain malformation that affects his motor skills, but that doesn’t seem to slow him down much. Lachlan enjoys zipping around in his motorized wheelchair, and he is content to spend hours in the toy aisle at Target. “He’s a very stable, happy and super fun […]