Side Effects News

Series produced by Side Effects Public Media

Series image
Image by: Jake Harper 

Our health journalism collaborative explores the impacts of place, policy and economics on Americans' health.

Our health journalism collaborative explores the impacts of place, policy and economics on Americans' health. We're exploring the root causes of community-wide health problems--from chronic disease, mental to behavioral health to infant mortality—and on new research and initiatives working to prevent and solve these problems.


50 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
A 'Gray Market' For Diabetes Supplies Highlights The Cost of Care
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
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America’s 21 million diabetics spend close to $4 billion dollars every year on test strips. Because of their high price, though — a single strip ca...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio and 90.1 WFYI Public Radio


  • Added: Jan 31, 2017
  • Length: 03:22
  • Purchases: 2
Medical Memberships Fill Some Gaps When People Can't Afford Insurance
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Caption: Joe Morris and Sean O'Hara both say that without the Direct Primary Care clinic in their town, they could not afford to get medical care. , Credit: Rebecca Smith
An alternative medical model called Direct Primary Care is helping some rural Missourians access at least basic medical care.

Bought by 90.1 WFYI Public Radio and KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio


  • Added: Jan 31, 2017
  • Length: 03:28
  • Purchases: 2
Indiana’s Model For Medicaid Could Spread—But It’s Not Working For Everyone
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Caption: Allen Wilson, 59, says he has debt collectors calling him over bills that should have been paid by Anthem, his former HIP 2.0 insurer., Credit: Jake Harper / Side Effects
Expanding Medicaid to cover more low-income Americans was a major component of the Affordable Care Act, and under then-Governor Mike Pence, Seema V...

Bought by WNIN


  • Added: Jan 10, 2017
  • Length: 03:38
  • Purchases: 1
Transgender Americans Change Names, Passports Ahead Of Trump Administration
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Caption: A Rochester native sits on his porch right before going to a name and gender change legal clinic hosted by the Empire Justice Center., Credit: Karen Shakerdge
Ahead of a new Trump administration, many transgender people worry about policy changes affecting their ability to legally change name and gender, ...

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio, 90.1 WFYI Public Radio, and KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio


  • Added: Dec 14, 2016
  • Length: 03:39
  • Purchases: 3
Rise In Mumps Cases Has Some Public Health Officials Asking Questions
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Piece image
A mumps outbreak at the University of Missouri and throughout the state of Arkansas has some public health officials asking questions about the eff...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio and 90.1 WFYI Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 13, 2016
  • Length: 03:25
  • Purchases: 2
In New York, State Laws May Protect Some Components of Obamacare From Possible Repeal
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Caption: David Hutchinson, 52, got health insurance for the first time in his life about a year ago.
New Yorkers may not be affected by some of these anticipated federal changes because of policies in place at the state level. In some ways, the Aff...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio


  • Added: Dec 07, 2016
  • Length: 03:45
  • Purchases: 1
Breast Milk Bank Resurgence Helps Premature Babies, But Who Will Pay?
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Caption: A 100 ml bottle of pasteurized, donated breast milk at the new non-profit milk bank in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. These cost $15 each., Credit: Karen Shakerdge
There's a reason donor milk is called "liquid gold" -- the fluid can make a big difference to premature babies with underdeveloped digestive system...

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 04, 2016
  • Length: 06:24
  • Purchases: 1
On The Ballot In Indianapolis And Across The U.S., Can Expanding Transit Improve Public Health?
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
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A ballot initiative asks voters to support an income tax increase to fund more frequent bus service, which proponents argue will get more people ri...

Bought by WNIN and WBST


  • Added: Nov 03, 2016
  • Length: 03:16
  • Purchases: 2
The Rise in Food Allergies is Changing the Work of School Nurses
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Piece image
Nationally, the rate of food allergies in school children went up 50 percent between 1997 and 2011. But in some states, like Missouri, the document...

Bought by 90.1 WFYI Public Radio, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, and WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Oct 25, 2016
  • Length: 03:26
  • Purchases: 3
Impending Ban on Herbal Painkiller Could Hamper Research
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Piece image
Kratom, an herbal supplement used by some to manage pain and opioid withdrawal, is expected to be made a schedule 1 drug by the DEA at the end of S...

Bought by 90.1 WFYI Public Radio and WXXI Rochester


  • Added: Sep 28, 2016
  • Length: 03:36
  • Purchases: 2
Insurance for Your Insurance? New Plans Offer to Fill the Gaps in High-Deductible Health Coverage
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Caption: Insurers like the Morgan White Group (whose advertisement is pictured above) offer 'gap insurance' plans to help cover the financial risk of high-deductible health insurance.
In the coming year, people insured under the Affordable Care Act may be facing, on average, about a 10 percent rise in the price of their health in...

  • Added: Sep 13, 2016
  • Length: 03:34
New York Mandates All Schools Test Water For Lead But Experts Say The Effort May Be Misplaced
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Piece image
This year, in the wake of Flint, Michigan’s water crisis school districts around the country have been testing their tap water for lead contaminati...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio


  • Added: Sep 09, 2016
  • Length: 03:21
  • Purchases: 1
A Dying Man’s Last Wish Ends In A Fight To Donate His Organs
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Caption: Dave Adox communicates about his commitment to be an organ donor through a machine that speaks for him., Credit: Karen Shakerdge
Every day about 22 Americans die while waiting for an organ transplant. One donor can save up to 8 lives. But despite this, one man living with ALS...

Bought by 90.1 WFYI Public Radio


  • Added: Jul 27, 2016
  • Length: 07:53
  • Purchases: 1
Can Social Workers Lower The Country's Premature Birth Rate?
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Piece image
Premature birth can lead to long-term health and development problems and is one of the main reasons parents lose their babies. To prevent this, OB...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, WAMC Northeast Public Radio, WNIN, and WILL


  • Added: Jun 06, 2016
  • Length: 03:29
  • Purchases: 4
When Cleaning Is A Matter Of Life And Death
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Caption: Environmental services worker Jeanna Hibbert scrubs the hospital room to get rid of C-diff bacteria., Credit: Michelle Faust/ Side Effects
The dreaded bacteria C. difficile has a way of spreading through a local health system, causing debilitating diarrhea and thousands of deaths a yea...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, WNIN, and WABE


  • Added: Jun 02, 2016
  • Length: 03:41
  • Purchases: 3
In Missouri, 300,000 Patients' Dental Care Is In Limbo As State Struggles To Fund Coverage
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Piece image
For the first time in 11 years, Missouri Medicaid was going to pay for dental coverage. Now, that funding is in jeopardy as Missouri’s Medicaid ag...

  • Added: Apr 29, 2016
  • Length: 03:31
Political Gridlock Leaves Missouri Without A Basic Tool For Fighting Drug Abuse
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
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As states try to combat the opioid drug abuse epidemic, most have created prescription drug monitoring databases used by doctors to help curtail ab...

  • Added: Mar 29, 2016
  • Length: 03:28
The Mental Health Overhaul That's Already Underway
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Piece image
The rise in opioid drug abuse and gun violence have led to recent calls to overhaul the nation’s mental health care system. Meanwhile, the Excellen...

Bought by WABE


  • Added: Jan 27, 2016
  • Length: 03:24
  • Purchases: 1
Missouri Nursing Students Help Refugees Navigate America’s Healthcare System
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Piece image
Nursing students at the University of Missouri are working with refugees in their community and acting as health care guides. This is to help the r...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio and WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 29, 2015
  • Length: 03:31
  • Purchases: 2
Amish and Mennonite Patients Push An Experiment In Health Care Price Transparency
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Side Effects News
Piece image
Uninsured by choice, Amish and Mennonite patients pay cash for health care and often will travel for the best price. One hospital in rural Missouri...

Bought by WABE


  • Added: Dec 10, 2015
  • Length: 03:29
  • Purchases: 1