Idaho
Half a million people in 11 states have lost Medicaid coverage since April
More than 500,000 people across 11 states have lost their Medicaid coverage since the unwinding of a policy that allowed people to stay in the program throughout the pandemic. The data, reported by the states and tracked by health policy researcher KFF, shows that of the five states providing data on people who lost Medicaid […]
Tussle in Texas over how elections are run could spread to other states
A move by Texas Republicans to abolish the position of Harris County elections administrator and hand new oversight powers to the governor-appointed secretary of state could provide a blueprint for GOP leaders in other states who want to tilt elections in their favor, Democratic lawmakers and independent election experts say. Republican lawmakers acted last week after arguing […]
Low fertility rates, high housing prices mean fewer children in most states
Thirty-five states have fewer children than they did five years ago, a situation caused by declining birth rates nationwide, but also by young families migrating across state borders in search of cheaper housing. Even in the 15 states that gained children, all but North Dakota experienced greater growth in the adult population, meaning children now […]
Wave of transgender health care bans has roots in past debates
In the past two years, 19 states have banned or restricted gender-affirming care for minors, and another 12 states are considering it — a tidal wave of policy change that has emboldened many Republicans on the far right while terrifying transgender youth and their families. Gender-affirming care for transgender patients can cover pediatrics, psychiatry and […]
First State Law to Criminalize Abortion ‘Trafficking’ May Inspire Others
Read more Stateline coverage on how states are either protecting or curbing access to abortions. Amid a flood of residents fleeing states that ban abortions to seek legal procedures or medication elsewhere, Idaho has become the first state to try to stem that exodus — at least for minors. Abortion is illegal at all stages of pregnancy […]
Firing Squads Could Return as States Debate the Death Penalty
Idaho wants to bring back the firing squad. The state House last week approved a bill that would allow the execution method as an alternative to lethal injections. Idaho has had trouble getting the drugs needed to kill inmates on its death row. Lawmakers in other Republican-led states likewise want to expand or reinstate the […]
As Pandemic Rent Relief Ends, States Struggle to Prevent Homelessness
Read more Stateline coverage of how communities across the country are trying to create more affordable housing. PORTLAND, Ore. — For almost three years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, states have had an unwelcome but ideal laboratory to test potential solutions to slow eviction, one of the most persistent challenges in preventing homelessness. Turns out, […]
GOP Lawmakers Aim to Criminalize Drag Shows Where Children Could Be Present
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was trivia night at Tribe, an LGBTQ club in Nashville, and drag queen Tracey Ottomey was quizzing the crowd on pop music, Christmas movies and Queen Victoria. At the same time, pop music videos — widely available on YouTube and other platforms — played on screens around the bar. One audience […]
That Hoppy IPA Might Have a Terroir, Just Like Wine
ST. PAUL, Oregon — The first hint of harvest time in one of the nation’s major hop-growing regions is obvious: All along the backroads of Oregon’s Willamette Valley are trucks overflowing with ropes of bouncy, freshly cut hops dropping their distinctive bright green cones on blacktop warmed by the early September sun. Then there’s the […]
Some Abortion Bans Put Patients, Doctors at Risk in Emergencies
Read more Stateline coverage on how states are either protecting or curbing access to abortions. Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, emergency health care providers in states that ban abortion have had to make wrenching legal and ethical judgments before treating a pregnant woman whose health or life may be in peril. “It’s […]
Wildfire Maps Underscore Risks — and Costs — of Climate Change
PORTLAND, Ore. — Jennie Peters vividly remembers what it was like to evacuate with three children from a wildfire as fierce winds blew embers through the river canyon near her home two years ago. “When we left, I could see the burning embers coming over the trees, landing in the backyard,” she said. “I called […]
More States Are Forgoing Extra Federal Food Aid
More than 18 million Americans sometimes didn’t have enough to eat last month, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. More than 5 million people often went hungry. Those numbers would have been higher if millions of families hadn’t received extra food aid through a pandemic-related expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as […]