Listen Tennessee is in a better position than most states as funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program runs out. Congress still hasn’t reauthorized what’s known as CHIP, and some states are already beginning to send out letters telling families to prepare for coverage to go away.
HIV Prevention Pill Still A Tough Sell In Nashville
Listen Even those most at risk have trouble believing how far HIV prevention has come. There’s now a pill that can substantially drive down the risk of contracting HIV — and it’s often free of charge. PrEP — as it’s known — is the big topic for a World AIDS Day summit in Nashville on […]
General Hospital Requests Larger Cash Infusion Despite Serving Fewer Patients
Nashville General Hospital has requested nearly $20 million to get through the rest of the fiscal year that ends in June. Without a cash infusion — which has become a regular mid-year request — the hospital says it will run out of operating funds Jan. 30. But the administration of Mayor Megan Barry is intensely […]
How A Vanderbilt Doctor Became The Nation’s Go-To Flu Expert
Listen When flu season comes around each year, a familiar face from Nashville appears in homes around the country: Dr. William Schaffner. The Vanderbilt doctor has become a media darling when it comes to infectious diseases.
Meharry To Guide Brainstorming For Nashville General Hospital’s Viable Future
Listen Meharry Medical College has decided to take a leading role in the future of Nashville General Hospital, organizing a working group that includes the administration of Mayor Megan Barry, school officials, ministers and labor leaders representing hospital staff. This follows a few weeks of uncertainty after school announced this month it will relocate its […]
TennCare Predicts Enrollment To Level Out At 1.4M, Even As Economy Booms
Tennessee’s Medicaid program swelled to 1.5 million people after the Affordable Care Act took effect — matching an all-time high set around the year 2000 and meaning nearly a quarter of the state was on TennCare. Numbers have fallen slightly from that peak as the economy has boomed. But TennCare officials say they’re finding a […]
Why Nashville Might Miss General Hospital If It Shuts Down
Listen A plan that would end Nashville’s long history of running a public hospital is basically an argument that the city doesn’t really need one — and that other medical centers in town already dole out far more charity care, especially as General Hospital’s caseload has dwindled to 40 patients a day, operating at just […]
Williamson County Waffles Again On Selling Its Medical Center
Listen The Williamson County Commission has again turned back an effort to sell its publicly owned hospital. Off and on for years, the panel has been considering the prospect of cashing out, but this week it rejected a proposal to put the question to a referendum vote.
Five Years After Fungal Meningitis Outbreak, Tennessee To Step Up Pharmacy Inspections
Listen Tennessee’s Health Department is hiring special investigators to keep tabs on the state’s compounding pharmacies, which make small-batch, custom drugs. The move is partially in response to the deadly fungal meningitis outbreak of 2012.
Tennesseans Recruited For Study On Chronic Pain And Opioid Use
Researchers are turning to Tennessee to find a middle ground on the use of opioids for treating chronic pain. A new study is recruiting 1,000 patients in Tennessee and North Carolina who are taking opioids for chronic pain — a move that comes at a time of conflicting opinions about whether addictive narcotics should even […]
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM