Rural News Clips, July 22, 2024
Arizona lawmakers pressured rural counties to hand-count votes; new Wisc. rules on ballot drop boxes create opportunity for election challenges and ‘vigilantes’; mobile methadone clinics could help
POLITICS AND ELECTIONS
St. Louis Public Radio
Missouri abortion rights and minimum wage campaigns on track for November ballot
July 19, 2024
“Citizen-led ballot measures to enshrine abortion rights in the Missouri constitution and mandate paid sick leave and an increased minimum wage remain on track to make November’s ballot, with records from Missouri election authorities showing each campaign has turned in more than enough valid signatures as the verification process continues.”
“Missouri is among several states vying to put abortion on the ballot following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, at which point nearly every abortion became illegal in Missouri. If approved for the ballot, Missourians will decide in November whether to allow abortions up until the point of fetal viability.”
Votebeat Pennsylvania
Another change to Pennsylvania mail ballot envelopes: Full year will be preprinted
July 18, 2024
“The Pennsylvania Department of State is hoping another change to mail ballot return envelopes will eliminate the chance of ballots being rejected this November because of voters failing to write in the year completely.”
“In a directive earlier this month, the Department of State told counties that they should now preprint ballot return envelopes with the full, four-digit year in the date field, leaving voters to fill in just the month and day alongside their signature.”
“It’s the second modification to the envelopes since the 2023 municipal elections, as state officials try to cut down on the number of ballots rejected for lacking a properly filled out date and resolve differing interpretations among counties on whether to count these ballots.”
“The move will also eliminate a risk of lawsuits in November over whether incomplete-year ballots should be accepted or rejected.”
Votebeat Arizona
Inside the private pressure campaign to force hand-counting of Arizona ballots
July 16, 2024
“Republican lawmakers in Arizona privately pressured county leaders across the state to count ballots by hand instead of using machines, according to previously unreported text messages.” Many were rural counties.
“The messages, obtained by Votebeat through public record requests, are a window into how state lawmakers are trying to leverage relationships with Republican county supervisors — who decide how to count ballots in their counties — to promote a practice that state officials have repeatedly said would be illegal.”
“And it highlights how lawmakers have turned to counties to try to change how ballots are counted, after failing to change state laws.”
Votebeat Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s new rules on ballot drop boxes create opportunity for election challenges and ‘vigilantes’
July 15, 2024
“Voters using Wisconsin’s newly legalized drop boxes may return only their own ballots, except in special cases, according to new guidance from the Wisconsin Elections Commission.”
“That means even a voter dropping off a spouse’s ballot along with their own could be considered as having cast a ballot improperly.”
“The rule could be difficult for municipal clerks to enforce. But it leaves an opening for potential challenges from conservative election activists, who are already preparing to act on suspicions that Democratic voters will abuse the boxes to commit fraud.”
“Allegations of drop box misuse could also spur legal challenges to election results, experts say.”
AVIAN FLU
Stat
Bird Flu In Colorado Poultry Workers Tied To Dairy Cow Outbreak
July 22, 2024
Public health experts who’ve been following the surprising spillover of H5N1 bird flu into America’s dairy cattle herds now have all eyes on Colorado, waiting to see if a cluster of human cases there might balloon into something bigger.”
CHILD CARE
The Daily Yonder
Survey: Affordable Child Care a Problem in Rural America
July 16, 2024
“A new survey of small business owners from rural parts of the country shows that 87% believe it has been difficult for working parents to afford high-quality child care programs for their children.
“The survey found that small businesses across the country, and especially in rural areas, are wanting to grow, said Janetta King, Midwest regional director for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, which conducted the study.”
Their top challenge is hiring and retaining workers, King said.
“The study also found that 66% of rural small businesses say their communities do not have enough high-quality and affordable child care programs. That’s 9 percentage points higher than the general population.”
“Additionally, 43% of rural small businesses say that a lack of child care has had a negative impact on their ability to operate or grow their businesses, which is 5 percentage points higher than the general population.”
COVID-19
CIDRAP
Lower COVID vaccine uptake tied to unequal access to vaccination sites
July 19, 2024
“A Boston Children's Hospital–led study reveals that COVID-19 vaccine uptake lagged among US children with more social vulnerability, lower socioeconomic status (SES), and greater household composition and disability (HCD) as of July 2022.”
“The study, published today in Pediatrics, also identified longer travel times to vaccination sites for rural, uninsured, White, and Native American families.”
DRUGS AND ADDICTION
The New York Times
Could Mobile Methadone Clinics Help People Quit Fentanyl?
July 21, 2024
“An estimated 450,000 Americans … take methadone, a powerful weapon in the fight against the fentanyl overdose crisis hiding in plain sight.”
“Methadone, itself a potent opioid, has been used for decades to treat people addicted to drugs like heroin. But it can also be hard to come by, because of government rules that have kept its distribution tightly controlled.”
“As America’s deadly overdose crisis has worsened, however, some of those rules are loosening. Now, some public health experts hope that mobile treatment programs … will help increase access.”
“The vans were approved by the federal government in 2021, lifting a moratorium on their use that had been in place since 2007. Their goal is to reach some of the millions of Americans struggling with opioid addiction that the nation’s roughly 2,000 methadone clinics cannot.” That especially means rural people.
Route Fifty
Stigma is hindering treatment of opioid addictions. States can change that.
July 19, 2024
“The health care workforce is key to treating patients' opioid use disorders, but experts say stigma toward drug use and treatment among medical professionals remains a barrier to treatment access and positive outcomes.”
FARM BILL
Progressive Farmer
The Fight Over the Farm Bill's Biggest Program
July 22, 2024
“Disagreements over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, aren't the only obstacle to passing a farm bill this year. They may not even be the most important one.”
“They are, though, among the most partisan of farm-bill disagreements. And their impact is big; SNAP is far and away the largest farm-bill program, accounting for more than 75% of the spending.”
“This year House Republicans are proposing to help pay for increased payments to farmers by taking around $30 billion from SNAP over 10 years. Farm bills are five-year laws, but they are scored for costs over 10 years.”
“Food-stamp benefits wouldn't go down, but they also wouldn't go up as much as they might have had the president retained the discretion the 2018 farm bill gave him.
“In an inflationary environment like today's, the Democrats call this a cut. They say they won't agree to any food-stamp cuts.”
HEALTH CARE
The Daily Yonder
Closing of Rural Hospitals Leaves Towns With Unhealthy Real Estate
Kentucky Health News
“Dozens of small cities and towns across the United States struggle not just with health care access and the loss of jobs, but also with the burden of what to do with big, empty buildings.”
Stateline
Proposed first-ever federal standards for maternal care met with mixed response from hospitals
July 16, 2024
“The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced new policy proposals that would require hospitals to adhere to more rigorous maternal care standards or risk losing their ability to participate in Medicare.”
“According to the proposed rule, the changes would cost close to $4.5 billion over 10 years, with an average annual cost of $70,671 to individual hospitals.”
“The policies would represent the first attempts at federally prescribed maternal health standards for hospitals.”
“The requirements would apply to critical access hospitals, which is a federal designation for a clinic in a rural area, and hospitals that don’t have an obstetrics unit would still be required to have basic emergency equipment and protocols for emergency deliveries.”
Kaiser Health News
Biden Administration Tightens Broker Access to Healthcare.gov To Thwart Rogue Sign-Ups
July 19, 2024
“The Biden administration on Friday put in place stringent curbs aimed at thwarting rogue insurance brokers from switching consumers’ Affordable Care Act plans without their consent.”
“The announcement came in response to mounting complaints from consumers. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Friday that, in the first six months of the year, more than 200,000 people reported to the agency that they were either enrolled in Obamacare plans or switched from one plan to another without their permission.”
IMMIGRATION
Barn Raiser
Immigrants Find a Home in This Rural Minnesota Town
July 4, 2024
A personal essay by Andrea Duarte-Alonso discusses “what Worthington’s history of welcoming immigrants can teach us about overcoming a polarized culture.”
Investigate Midwest
‘We are here with that insecurity’: Mixed-status families weigh leaving Iowa
July 4, 2024
“immigrant workers … are torn between remaining or leaving the state to avoid their own potential deportation or the deportation of their undocumented family members, according to interviews Investigate Midwest conducted with migrant advocacy groups and 10 immigrant families living in Iowa.”
“Most family members requested anonymity over fears their loved ones could be deported if they were identified.”
“If immigrants leave in large numbers, the economy of this agricultural state, already in need of more labor, could be jeopardized, advocates said.”
MENTAL HEALTH
Ohio Capital Journal
Ohio suicides went up in 2022, according to new report from Ohio Department of Health
July 18, 2024
“The number of Ohioans who died by suicide increased by 2% in 2022, according to new data from the Ohio Department of Health.”
“There were 1,797 suicide deaths in Ohio in 2022 — the 13th-leading cause of death in Ohio.”
“Thirteen of the 15 counties with the highest suicide death rates were rural.”
“Suicide was the second-leading cause of death among Ohioans ages 10-14 and 20-34 that year.”
“Males accounted for 80% of Ohio suicide deaths and Ohioans between the ages of 35-44 had the highest rate of suicide deaths.”
“Males 75 and older had the highest rate of suicide deaths and females ages 25-34 had the highest rate of suicide deaths.”
“Firearms accounted for more than half of all suicide deaths — 64% of male suicide deaths and 36% of female suicide deaths.” Firearm deaths in rural areas are more likely to be suicides or accidents than homicides.
PHARMACIES
Ohio Capital Journal
Pharmacy closures multiply, threatening to create health care deserts
July 22, 2024
“The number of small-chain and independent pharmacies had already been declining precipitously when Rite Aid announced late last month that it was closing hundreds of pharmacies in Ohio and Michigan — with more sure to come in the 14 other states where the bankrupt chain operates.”
“Just after that announcement, retail giant Walgreens said it was planning to close 25% — or more than 2,000 — stores nationally.”
“As the companies look to close “underperforming” stores, there’s little doubt that many or most of them will be in poor or isolated communities.”
“The closures are the consequence of the squeeze put on pharmacies by middlemen that are part of massive and rapidly growing health conglomerates.”
Bloomberg Law
Small Pharmacy Closures Spur Statehouse Battles on PBM Practices
July 22, 2024
“Pharmacy trade groups are pushing for state legislation to regulate pharmacy benefit managers, arguing that PBMs are forcing community pharmacies to close across the US, including regions with few health-care options.”
“In 2024 state legislative sessions, lawmakers introduced more than 170 bills in 41 states seeking to regulate the entities that manage prescription drug benefits.”
“The top three PBMs—CVS Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx—control nearly 80% of the market.”
“The surge in legislative activity around PBMs comes as the National Community Pharmacists Association reported nearly one independent pharmacy closure a day in the last year, with more than three times as many chain pharmacies shutting their doors.”
POPULATION
The Daily Yonder
Small Towns Are Paying Remote Workers to Move In
July 17, 2024
“With remote work apparently here to stay, rural communities are trying to attract new residents with everything from cash to potlucks, and farm-fresh eggs.”
Stateline
Red-state cities and suburbs are becoming more diverse
July 21, 2024
“Growth in Asian, Black and Hispanic communities is transforming cities and suburban counties, especially in red states such as Florida, Indiana and Texas.”
“The presidential swing states of Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania also were among the fastest-changing states.”
“Nationally, the share of the non-white population grew in 47 states between mid-2020 and mid-2023.”
“Hispanic growth was the dominant factor across states, in blue and red counties and in rural and urban areas.”
“Growth in the Hispanic population is coming partly from immigration but mostly from higher birth rates, the Census Bureau said in a release.”
“Only three states — Montana, South Carolina and Tennessee — and the District of Columbia have seen their white population share grow since 2020.”
PUBLIC LANDS
Barn Raiser
On the Chopping Block: BLM plans to raze 380,000 acres of pinyon-juniper forests vital to Nevada tribes
July 11, 2024
“The Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, is the powerful Interior Department agency that administers 245 million publicly owned acres, or one-tenth of the nation’s land, as well as 700 million acres of subsurface mineral rights.”
“In pursuit of this lofty goal, the BLM has obliterated pinyon-juniper forests since the 1950s, ‘chaining’ millions of acres throughout the West. The agency’s fire program tells Barn Raiser that over just seven recent years—2017 through 2023—it removed more than 1.7 million acres’ worth of trees.”
“In doing that, the agency spent just over $151 million in taxpayer money on chaining and on followup activities intended to encourage replacement plants.”
“The BLM calls the latter ‘treatments,’ a mild-sounding term that encompasses harrowing, plowing, mowing, fire, herbicides and more. Eventually, 38.5 million acres of pinyon-juniper forest will be on the chopping block, says the BLM.”
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
The Associated Press
Abortion rights supporters report having enough signatures to qualify for Montana ballot
July 19, 2024
“ An initiative to ask voters if they want to protect the right to a pre-viability abortion in Montana’s constitution has enough signatures to appear on the November ballot, supporters said Friday.”
“Still pending is whether the signatures of inactive voters should count toward the total.”
“Montana’s secretary of state said they shouldn’t, but it didn’t make that statement until after the signatures were gathered and after some counties had begun verifying them.”
“A Helena judge ruled Tuesday that the qualifications shouldn’t have been changed midstream and said the signatures of inactive voters that had been rejected should be verified and counted. District Judge Mike Menahan said those signatures could be accepted through next Wednesday.”
The Associated Press
South Dakota anti-abortion group appeals ruling that dismissed its lawsuit over ballot initiative
July 19, 2024
“An anti-abortion group in South Dakota has appealed to the state’s Supreme Court after a judge dismissed its lawsuit to take an abortion rights initiative off the November ballot.”
Life Defense Fund “sought to remove the initiated measure, alleging wrongdoing related to petition circulators.”
“Measure group Dakotans for Health submitted tens of thousands of petition signatures in May. Secretary of State Monae Johnson’s office later validated the initiative for the Nov. 5 general election ballot.”
“‘The measure would bar the state from regulating “a pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation’ in the first trimester, but it would allow second-trimester regulations ‘only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.’”
RURAL LEADER UPDATES
The Daily Yonder
Democracy, Arts, and Storytelling Skills Are Featured in August 1 Rural Assembly Everywhere
July 22, 2024
“The Rural Assembly will explore these questions and more at Rural Assembly Everywhere on Thursday, August 1, from 1-3 p.m. EST.”
“The virtual gathering will bring together a diverse range of panelists and participants from across the country — all focused on uplifting and understanding rural America.”
“Registration is now open to all: rural advocates, community leaders, journalists, artists and ‘everyone, everywhere,’ according to the event organizers.”
“Previous online gatherings of the Rural Assembly brought together hundreds of rural leaders, residents and advocates since its first gathering in 2020.”
The Daily Yonder
Q&A: Does Urban Planning Work in Small Towns?
July 19, 2024
“Dr. Mahbub Rashid, inspired by his time living in small town Kansas, has a new book that investigates whether the basic tenets of urban planning apply to less densely populated places.”
SAFETY NET PROGRAMS
Route Fifty
Georgia’s Medicaid work requirements have brought high costs, low enrollment
July 19, 2024
A year ago this month, Georgia launched its own Medicaid expansion mandating work requirements for new enrollees. Called Pathways to Coverage, the program has delivered underwhelming results.”
“An alternative to traditional Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, the program has added just over 4,300 new low-income patients, far below the 25,000 people it aimed to cover. It has cost at least $26 million so far.”
“Georgia is the only state in the country with work requirements for any of its Medicaid recipients. Federal courts and the Biden administration have blocked efforts by other states to impose them.”