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A woman in a white doctor's coat stands in front of a medical computer terminal.

Carolina Reyes, a maternal-fetal physician and wife of Health and Human Services SecretaryXavier Becerra, says the rise in maternal mortality is unacceptable when most of the deaths are preventable. | RICH PEDRONCELLI FOR KFF HEALTH NEWS

The nation’s health secretary has this doctor on call

Carolina Reyes, a Harvard-trained physician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies and who is married to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, is championing efforts to improve Medicaid coverage to mothers after giving birth

May 4, 2023

The Capitol Building in Salem. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Lawmakers again try softening Oregon’s health care cost controls

Unions and hospitals agree labor costs should not count toward the state spending growth cap, but critics are concerned about the new bill

May 2, 2023
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SHUTTERSTOCK

New OHSU tool would track behavioral health beds

The system will share data on patients and bed availability, making it easier to find needed placements

May 2, 2023
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UNSPLASH

After Idaho’s strict abortion ban, OB-GYNs stage a quick exodus

Clinicians are leaving, saying common pregnancy complications that can escalate rapidly are forcing them to choose between patient safety and risking criminal charges

May 2, 2023

Oregonians gather outside the Multnomah County Justice Center to protest the June 2022 Supreme Court Decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, ending a nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion. | ALEX BAUMHARDT/OREGON CAPITAL CHRONICLE

Oregon House passes sweeping bill to guarantee access to abortion, gender-affirming care

The bill stands in opposition to legislation in Republican-led states blocking access and criminalizing care

May 2, 2023

OONA TEMPEST/KFF HEALTH NEWS ILLUSTRATION

How one patient’s textured hair nearly kept her from a needed EEG

Researchers are working to better capture brain waves of people with naturally thick and curly hair, but solutions are not yet widely available

May 1, 2023

This year, about 3,200 rocks were hand painted by volunteers spreading awareness about organ donation through the "Kindness Rocks" campaign. | COURTESY OF ANNE CARLETON/PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP

How the death of a 15-year-old saved lives and spread kindness

After her son’s organ donations saved seven lives, a mother organized a rock-painting campaign to raise awareness for organ donation at Kaiser Permanente’s Hillsboro hospital

May 1, 2023
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Stanton Healthcare, headquartered in Meridian, Idaho, advertises a controversial and unregulated treatment that claims, without credible data, to reverse the effects of medication abortion. | COURTESY OF BRANDI SWINDELL

How to make a state abortion ban go national

Stanton Healthcare has been the driving force to test the boundaries of Idaho’s strict abortion ban, adding to chaos and uncertainty among Idahoans who need abortions

May 1, 2023