Anna Claire Vollers

Reporter tip from Vollers: Don’t stop at “coverage exists.” Ask providers what #Medicaid actually pays. Reimbursement levels determine whether #postpartum mental-health visits happen at all & cuts to some groups ripple through whole families. #Journalism #MaternalHealth

Deaths prompt state lawmakers to consider new hyperbaric oxygen therapy rules • Stateline The deaths of two people, one of them a child, have thrown a spotlight on the largely unregulated world of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

From @acvollers.bsky.social: Two deaths by fire this year have thrown a spotlight on the largely unregulated world of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

stateline.org/2025/09/15/d...

Rural hospitals often scrap labor and delivery services after mergers, study finds | Alabama Reflector Rural hospitals are less likely to offer obstetric services after they’ve been acquired by a larger health system, leading to mixed outcomes for mothers and babies, according to new research.

Via @acvollers.bsky.social and @stateline.org: Rural hospitals are less likely to offer obstetric services after they’ve been acquired by a larger health system, leading to mixed outcomes for mothers and babies, according to new research.

Incredible reporting from my colleague Alex Brown on the ICE raid at an active wildfire, and the firefighters who are convinced it was a trap.

As Republicans spar over IVF, some turn to obscure MAHA-backed alternative • Stateline In statehouses around the nation, in vitro fertilization has emerged as a dividing line running through the Republican Party.

From @acvollers.bsky.social: Republican support for in vitro fertilization, after surging in the wake of a 2024 Alabama Supreme Court decision that threatened the procedure, may be splintering as President Donald Trump retreats from his IVF promises.

stateline.org/2025/08/25/a...

Two different people (state legislative aide and a university prof) addressed me as “Anne” in response emails this morning. Like…my real name is right there in the signature of my initial email. I don’t expect strangers to get my double name but you’d think they’d at least get “Anna” correct.

When hospitals buy physician practices, prices go up • Stateline As more hospitals have gobbled up private physician practices, costs for childbirth and other services have gone up, according to a new study. Since the early aughts, the share of physicians in the Un...

As more hospitals have gobbled up private physician practices, costs for childbirth and other services have gone up, according to a new study.

@acvollers.bsky.social reports:
stateline.org/2025/08/05/w...

When hospitals buy physician practices, prices go up • SC Daily Gazette As fewer doctors work in physician-owned practices, patients or their insurers end up paying more, according to a new study.

When hospitals buy physician practices, prices go up scdailygazette.com/2025/08/06/w... by @stateline.org's @acvollers.bsky.social

Medicaid cuts could be devastating for the Delta and the rest of rural America • Stateline Many people in the Delta region of the Deep South say Medicaid work requirements and other health care provisions in the "big, beautiful" tax and spending bill ignore the reality of living in poorer r...

Over 11.8M could lose #healthcare as Trump's #bigbeautifulbill would cut $1T from Medicaid over the next decade. People in the Delta say – national leaders are completely out of touch with the reality of what it’s like to live in rural America. @statesnewsroom.com stateline.org/2025/07/03/m...

‘A purpose in this world’: Older adults fear elimination of program that helps them find work

In his budget for the coming fiscal year, President Donald Trump has recommended eliminating some programs that fall under the Older Americans Act, a landmark 1965 law that provides social and meal services for older people, reports @acvollers.bsky.social‬.

‘A purpose in this world’: Older adults fear elimination of program that helps them find work • Stateline Congress is considering axing the funding for the Senior Community Service Employment Program, which provides paid part-time work at local nonprofits and government agencies for people 55 and older wi...

Congress is considering axing the funding for the Senior Community Service Employment Program, which provides paid part-time work at local nonprofits and government agencies for people 55 and older with low incomes.

@acvollers.bsky.social reports:

stateline.org/2025/06/23/a...

‘Expensive and complicated’: Most rural hospitals no longer deliver babies • Kansas Reflector In rural counties, the loss of hospital-based obstetric care is associated with increases in births in hospital emergency rooms, less prenatal care and higher rates of babies being born too early

‘Expensive and complicated’: Most rural hospitals no longer deliver babies | #ksleg via @acvollers.bsky.social kansasreflector.com/2025/06/15/e...

Private equity snaps up disability services, challenging state regulators • Stateline In recent years, a handful of large private equity-owned companies such as Sevita have snapped up hundreds of smaller providers of disability services around the country and rolled them into larger co...

Private equity companies have gobbled up group homes and other services for people with disabilities, attracting the attention of state and federal regulators across the nation and alarming advocates.

@acvollers.bsky.social reports:
stateline.org/2025/05/16/p...

Private equity snaps up disability services, challenging state regulators | Alabama Reflector A recent report said people with intellectual or developmental disabilities have suffered abuse, neglect and even death while under the care of private equity-owned providers.

Via @acvollers.bsky.social and @stateline.org: People with intellectual or developmental disabilities have suffered abuse, neglect and even death while under the care of private equity-owned providers, according to a recent report from watchdog group Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

In the Deep South, health care fights echo civil rights battles • Stateline Just as civil rights activists marched for voting rights and an end to segregation, the next generation of organizers is demanding something they see as no less essential: the right to accessible, aff...

The creation of Medicaid isn’t typically considered a civil rights win. But the idea of health care as a human right was a part of the Civil Rights Movement, as was the idea that universal coverage could help dismantle racial inequities.

@acvollers.bsky.social reports: stateline.org/2025/05/07/i...

23andMe users’ genetic data is at risk, state AGs warn | Alabama Reflector 23andMe declared bankruptcy this year, and the sale of its data has prompted attorneys general from both parties to encourage personal data deletion.

Via @acvollers.bsky.social and @stateline.org: 23andMe's genetic data on 15 million customers is up for sale, stoking fears about how it might be used and prompting attorneys general from more than a dozen states to warn 23andMe users: Delete your data.

How 404 Media Is Navigating 'Economic Headwinds' The economy is bad. Here's how we're doing, and how you can help us.

How 404 Media Is Navigating 'Economic Headwinds' and what we’ve changed

🔗 www.404media.co/how-404-medi...

A fifth of Americans are on Medicaid. Some of them have no idea. • Alabama Reflector Some Americans who rely on Medicaid to pay for their health care don’t realize their insurance is funded by that very program, which congressional Republicans are looking to shrink. One reason is that...

Via @acvollers.bsky.social and @stateline.org: Some Americans who rely on Medicaid to pay for their health care don’t realize their insurance is funded by that very program, which congressional Republicans are looking to shrink.

A fifth of Americans are on Medicaid. Some of them have no idea. • Stateline Some Americans who rely on Medicaid to pay for their health care don’t realize their insurance is funded by that very program, which congressional Republicans are looking to shrink.

Millions of Americans are unaware that their health coverage will disappear with cuts to #Medicaid—the #publichealth ramifications of this can't be overstated.

A fifth of Americans are on Medicaid. Some of them have no idea. stateline.org/2025/04/09/a... by @acvollers.bsky.social via @stateline.org

Medicaid cuts could hurt older adults who rely on home care, nursing homes • Stateline Medicaid covers most nursing home and home-based care for older patients. They could be especially hurt if there are cuts.

Around the nation, doctors, lawmakers, advocates and patients are ringing alarm bells over congressional Republicans’ proposals to slash billions from federal Medicaid funding as they look to offset trillions in proposed tax cuts.

@acvollers.bsky.social reports:

stateline.org/2025/03/28/m...

Hold My Snacks: Pirate’s Booty Founder Attempts a Seaside Coup A snack food magnate declared himself mayor of the Village of Sea Cliff, on Long Island. The voters said otherwise.

Captain Bootyhead 🫡 www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/n...

GOP lawmakers push to charge women with homicide for seeking abortions • Stateline As state legislative sessions grind on, conservative lawmakers have filed a new batch of bills that would grant legal rights to fetuses and fertilized embryos.

Alrighty, what fetal personhood bills have we got this session?
…Oh.
stateline.org/2025/03/06/g... for @stateline.org @statesnewsroom.com

GOP-led lawsuit that could dismantle disability protections draws public backlash • Stateline A push by Republican attorneys general in 17 states to strike down part of a federal law that protects disabled people from discrimination has prompted an outcry from advocates, parents and some local...

A push by Republican attorneys general in 17 states to strike down part of a federal law that protects disabled people from discrimination has prompted an outcry from advocates, parents and some local officials.

The latest from @acvollers.bsky.social:

stateline.org/2025/02/20/g...

GOP-led lawsuit that could dismantle disability protections draws public backlash • Alabama Reflector The GOP-led lawsuit targets certain protections for transgender people. But some experts warn it has the potential to weaken federal protections for all people with disabilities.

Via @acvollers.bsky.social and @stateline.org: Alabama joined 16 other Republican AGs over the Biden administration’s addition of a gender identity-related disorder to the disabilities protected under a section of a 1973 federal law. But a backlash has erupted.

The duality of man

Health insurance for millions could vanish as states put Medicaid expansion on chopping block • Wisconsin Examiner Nationwide, more than 21 million people with low incomes get their health insurance because of expanded Medicaid eligibility.

ICYMI: @stateline.org reporter @acvollers.bsky.social looks at states that expanded #Medicaid where some now want to claw that back.

New Florida law allowing C-sections outside hospitals could be national model • Stateline A recently enacted Florida law that allows doctors to deliver babies via cesarean section in clinics outside of hospitals could be a blueprint for other states.

Florida is the first state to allow doctors to deliver babies via c-section at out-of-hospital birth centers. Lawmakers say it could improve care access, but a private equity-backed physician group lobbied for the law, prompting concerns, @acvollers.bsky.social reports.
stateline.org/2025/01/29/n...

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Mental health care for new moms is critical. And hard to access. • Alabama Reflector Providers and patients say underfunding and barriers prevent new mothers from getting mental health care until they face mental health crises.

On paper, Alabama’s pregnancy Medicaid covers mental health issues like postpartum depression. But in practice, help remains out of reach until conditions bloom into crises. Glad to join with the @alabamareflector.com for their new series on AL mental health alabamareflector.com/2025/01/30/m...

Trump to place federal DEI staff on paid leave starting Wednesday The Trump administration on Tuesday instructed U.S. federal government departments and agencies to dismantle all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, advising employees of such programs that they would be immediately placed on paid leave.

I live in a government town and lots of Big Brother talk today. Friends here angry, worried, upset over the email they got today, encouraging them to rat out any DEI-supporting coworkers. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...