Arielle Zionts
@ajzionts.bsky.social
✏️: Rural Health Reporter @KFFHealthNews.org 📍: Rapid City ✉️: ariellez@kff.org 🚨 Signal: Zionts_RuralHealthNews.22 😍: Story ideas, outdoors, animals, reading, history, art, gravel+mtn biking ❗️: RT means worth reading/knowing, not agreement
Historically, the NIH funded studies evaluating the health impacts of policies like Medicaid expansion, firearm regulations, and abortion limits. Now, top officials are flagging dozens of these grants as "lobbying" and leaving them in administrative limbo.
“I get artificial intelligence for certain things, but for personal healthcare — no,” said Tara Haffner, who lives in rural South Dakota. https://kffhealthnews.org/rural-health/rural-healthcare-artificial-intelligence-patients-wary/
Patients Wary of Governments, Companies Pushing AI as a Rural Healthcare Solution - KFF Health News
The $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program is set to flood rural America with new AI health tools. That's despite little evidence on whether health-related AI can improve access to care and patient health in those communities.
kffhealthnews.org
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally starts today. Yesterday, 5 motorcyclists died in 3 crashes. 2 of the crashes were caused by riders losing control through turns: One rider hit+killed another motorcyclist. Another hit a car, killing himself+his passenger; neither were wearing helmets.
What Israel did to activists who tried to go to Gaza: Detained activists were beaten, shot w/ rubber bullets & Tasered One woman said she was raped Medical records show "fractured ribs, a fractured vertebrae, a broken coccyx, a firearm wound and a collapsed lung" www.nytimes.com/2026/08/07/w...
Opioid settlement money is set to fund part of Washington, D.C.'s budget, rekindling debates about how the dollars should be used. https://kffhealthnews.org/public-health/washington-dc-opioid-settlements-medicaid-budget-supplantation/
Budget Battle Erupts in Nation's Capital Over Opioid Settlement Money - KFF Health News
Washington, D.C.'s 2027 fiscal-year blueprint reflects a debate playing out around the U.S.: whether opioid settlement money should be used to free up taxpayer dollars by paying for existing responsibilities instead of new programs.
kffhealthnews.org
The fed's list of exemptions for Medicaid work requirements is shorter than many expected. One group left out: people without housing. Tywon has seizures that make it hard to work and has been homeless since his wife's death last year. Read (or listen to) his story: @npr.org, @kffhealthnews.org
Medicaid Work Rule Leaves Homeless People in the Cold - KFF Health News
Conservatives who have long pushed for Medicaid work requirements often said vulnerable people would get a pass. But the federal government’s list of exemptions left off homeless people.
kffhealthnews.org
“At least four states — Montana, Arizona, Kentucky, and Utah — previously proposed policies that included homelessness as an exemption. But federal officials have said that’s not allowed.”
KFF Health News@kffhealthnews.org · 6d ago“My Medicaid is still active, but when are they gonna cut that off from me? I can't get employed,” said Tywon Pugh, 46, who has recurring seizures and has been homeless since last year. @k-hought.bsky.social reports ⤵️
Public health nurses are painstakingly tracing the path of the cyclospora outbreak, combing through fast-food orders and grocery purchases as they listen to people’s lengthy, messy stories about their illness.
Nurses Chase Cyclospora, Aided by Interviews, Fast-Food Receipts — And the Messy Details - KFF Health News
Yes, they’ve heard all the poop jokes. Public health staffers are painstakingly tracing the sources of this massive outbreak, combing through fast-food orders and lettuce purchases as they listen to p...
kffhealthnews.org
Patients Wary of Governments, Companies Pushing AI as a Rural Healthcare Solution via @ajzionts.bsky.social and @dariustahir.bsky.social dailyyonder.com/patients-war...
Patients Wary of Governments, Companies Pushing AI as a Rural Healthcare Solution | The Daily Yonder
This story was originally published by KFF Health News. Two of the nation’s most powerful health officials predict artificial intelligence will play a key
dailyyonder.com
A $50B federal program is pushing AI into rural clinics. There is quite a bit that could go wrong here with rusher deployment. Urban-trained models struggle in areas with poor broadband and models are often not tuned for these communities. (Story 🔗 in the post below) #MedSky 🛟
Arielle Zionts@ajzionts.bsky.social · 2w agoIt's unclear how many states will collect and share outcomes of the AI-programs they fund. Meanwhile, I spoke with six rural residents about AI as a rural health solution. Four were outright against this idea. The other two had doubts but think AI could help in some areas.
A tiny federal agency that tracks consumer product safety wants patient records from emergency room visits, including details about injuries that have nothing to do with consumer products, documents reveal. Amanda Seitz, Maia Rosenfeld & @dariustahir.bsky.social report ⤵️
Trump Administration Demands Hospitals Share Emergency Room Records - KFF Health News
The tiny federal agency that tracks consumer product safety is pressuring hospitals to turn over patient records from emergency room visits, including about injuries that have nothing to do with consumer products.
kffhealthnews.org
This week: Nursing homes terminated hundreds of Haitian workers with TPS. Major airports fired Haitian janitors, cabin cleaners and wheelchair attendants. Schools let go of drivers and landscapers. My reporting on the fallout of Haiti TPS termination. t.co/vCyqrl7hK3
My colleagues and I look into rural healthcare and AI:
Arielle Zionts@ajzionts.bsky.social · 2w agoIt's unclear how many states will collect and share outcomes of the AI-programs they fund. Meanwhile, I spoke with six rural residents about AI as a rural health solution. Four were outright against this idea. The other two had doubts but think AI could help in some areas.
Rural residents are appropriately wary of “robots for the rubes, actual care for us,” urban-centric health care policy, hisses Sam the rural health advoCATe. #PowerOfRuralCats dailyyonder.com/patients-war...
Patients Wary of Governments, Companies Pushing AI as a Rural Healthcare Solution | The Daily Yonder
This story was originally published by KFF Health News. Two of the nation’s most powerful health officials predict artificial intelligence will play a key
dailyyonder.com
It's unclear how many states will collect and share outcomes of the AI-programs they fund. Meanwhile, I spoke with six rural residents about AI as a rural health solution. Four were outright against this idea. The other two had doubts but think AI could help in some areas.
The Daily Yonder@dailyyonder.bsky.social · 2w agoThe $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program is set to flood rural America with new AI health tools. That’s despite little evidence on whether health-related AI can improve access to care and patient health in those communities.
The Lumbee Tribe won federal recognition last year, ending a 137-year struggle and opening the door to building its own health system. Living in North Carolina’s sickest county, its people are divided on how to do it.
The Newest Federally Recognized Tribe Wants Better Healthcare. It May Be On Its Own. - KFF Health News
North Carolina's Robeson County, where most of the tribe's citizens live, ranks as one of the worst counties in the U.S. for health disparities. After securing federal recognition, Lumbee tribal leaders will have to decide how to address them.
kffhealthnews.org
Every doctor should ask female abdominal-area surgery patients about their reproductive plans, and if they don't want any/more kids, educate them about the benefits of fallopian tube removal+offer to remove them during the planned surgery. But most don't. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/h...
There’s a Way to Prevent Ovarian Cancer. Few Know About It.
The vast majority of cases begin in the fallopian tubes — and removing them can reduce the risk by nearly 80 percent.
nytimes.com
A @kffhealthnews.org team has collected most states' approved plans and first-year budgets for the #RuralHealthTransformationProgram! #RHTP #RuralHealth Team: Me, @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social + Nate Payne kffhealthnews.org/rural-health...
Tracking State Rural Health Transformation Plans - KFF Health News
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
kffhealthnews.org
BREAKING NYT: Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states "based solely" on whether they backed Trump in the 2024 election.
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him
Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.
nytimes.com
"The complaint further alleges ChatGPT adopted the language and cadence of Christian ministry, quoting scripture and portraying Winters’ illness as a spiritual journey." nypost.com/2026/07/23/b...
ChatGPT kept Florida pastor from seeking emergency care before near-fatal medical crisis, lawsuit alleges
The complaint, filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court by Scott Winters, alleges ChatGPT-4o spent months acting as an unlicensed physician.
nypost.com
A year after Thomasville, Georgia, lost a nearly $20 million federal environmental health grant, residents in a predominantly Black neighborhood are left facing conditions dangerous to their health.
Public Health Improvements Stall Amid Trump's DEI Crackdown - KFF Health News
A year after the Environmental Protection Agency stripped grant money from dozens of communities nationwide during Trump's DEI crackdown, a small Georgia city is struggling to address environmental health concerns.
kffhealthnews.org
Doctors worry they’ll get pulled into proving that some Medicaid enrollees are “medically frail,” or too sick or disabled to be subject to the program’s new work rule, and they aren’t happy about it. kffhealthnews.org/medicaid/med...
Doctors ‘Cringe’ at Possibility of Documenting Which Medicaid Enrollees Too Sick To Work - KFF Health News
Final regulations on Medicaid work requirements say enrollees must regularly obtain documentation — possibly from medical professionals — to prove that they’re too sick to work. Doctors say the rules ...
kffhealthnews.org
Advocates are demanding accountability for how local officials spend tens of billions in opioid settlement cash. But whose job is that? Many state agencies are punting to one another. https://kffhealthnews.org/public-health/opioid-settlement-funds-leadership-vacuum-disbursement-oversight-new-york/
Leadership Vacuum: Agencies in New York and Beyond Pass the Buck on Opioid Cash Oversight - KFF Health News
The opioid settlements are a multibillion-dollar windfall with only loose spending suggestions rather than strict requirements. Some people directly affected by the crisis want stronger guardrails. But New York state's experience highlights the challeng...
kffhealthnews.org
Parts of "The Odyssey" were filmed in occupied Western Sahara, defying requests from the Sahawari people. Advocates are now calling for a boycott of the film and what they say is its complicity with Morocco's occupation and cultural genocide.
Last year, the Trump administration announced a voluntary commitment by dozens of insurers to improve a process called prior authorization. But some of those insurers chose not to sign the pledge’s recent update. kffhealthnews.org/insurance/pr...
Insurers Hedge on Trump-Backed Pledge To Improve Denials Process - KFF Health News
Last year, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge from dozens of insurers to improve a process called prior authorization, which often requires patients or their doctors to seek approva...
kffhealthnews.org
Meta used AI to target workers with medical conditions for layoffs, according to a new lawsuit. Twenty-six former Meta employees are suing, accusing the company of using AI that disproportionately targeted people with disabilities or workers who took medical leave in selecting people for layoffs.
Meta used AI to target workers with medical conditions for layoffs, lawsuit claims
Twenty-six former employees of Meta Platforms have filed a lawsuit against the tech company, accusing it of using AI-powered software that disproportionately targeted people with disabilities or who...
reuters.com
A 10-year study found a common surgery to address knee pain provided little or no benefit and was associated with worse knee troubles. kffhealthnews.org/health-indus...
Knee Pain? Ragged Cartilage? Research Suggests Surgery’s Not the Best Answer - KFF Health News
A Finnish study followed patients for 10 years after they had a popular knee surgery. For many, the pain continued or even worsened.
kffhealthnews.org
Think. About. This. The U.S. Treasury receives the revenue from most of Venezuela’s exports, then disburses it gradually to Venezuela through the country’s private banks…. Mr. Rubio and his team set the conditions on what that money can be spent on, and by whom. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/u...
How Marco Rubio is Running Venezuela From Afar
The secretary of state effectively controls Venezuela’s finances, the distribution of its natural resources and its government. His grip on the country is a vivid manifestation of American power in th...
nytimes.com
They harvest our red peppers, tomatoes, and oranges ... but their Medicaid coverage could be in jeopardy. @andalo.bsky.social reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/insurance/ag...
They Harvest the Nation’s Food, but a New Rule May Strip Them of Health Insurance - KFF Health News
New Medicaid work requirements could make a complex system even harder for farmworkers to navigate.
kffhealthnews.org
In 1955, the U.S. had more than half a million psychiatric beds. Today, about 61,000 are left despite more than 14 million people a year experiencing severe mental illness. @helenwsantoro.bsky.social explains what this meant for her. 🎨 by @oonatempest.bsky.social kffhealthnews.org/health-indus...
My Search for a Psychiatric Bed in an Overburdened Health System - KFF Health News
Over the past 70 years, the number of inpatient psychiatric beds has dropped dramatically, leaving many without critical care when they experience mental health crises. I was one of the lucky ones to ...
kffhealthnews.org