The Missouri General Assembly passed a number of changes to healthcare in the state, including expanded contraceptive access, doula coverage, 340B drug protections and ambulance district reforms.
Meg Cunningham
Meg Cunningham is The Beacon’s rural health reporter. She graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism, where she covered state government and health. She spent roughly three years covering national politics, including the 2018 and 2020 elections, at ABC News in Washington. She’s spent over five years covering politics and policy, with the last three of those years focused on Missouri state government, developing expertise on state policy and agencies, democracy and representation, and health outcomes in Missouri. She grew up in the Kansas City suburbs.
Posted inState Government
Under White House pressure, Missouri speeds up effort to find Medicaid fraud
Missouri officials say an expanded drive to revalidate providers will help stop fraud before it can begin, though critics warn that the federal government should take a more collaborative approach with states.
Posted inRural
Central Missouri’s Fitzgibbon Hospital files bankruptcy, highlighting growing strain on rural hospitals
Fitzgibbon Hospital will remain open during Chapter 11 proceedings and while a sale to a private buyer is finalized, but years of losses and cuts to services reflect challenges facing rural healthcare providers.
Posted inHealth
Rural lifeline or potential monopoly? MU Health Care plan would allow expansion even if competition shrinks
Proposed legislation would give MU Health Care broad freedom to expand across 25 mid-Missouri counties. Experts warn it may not be needed for rural hospital acquisitions and could harm competition.
Posted inRural
Rehab or license plate readers: Counties are spending Missouri’s $900 million opioid settlement in wildly different ways
Some communities are using their share of opioid settlement funds on treatment, transportation and recovery, while others are investing in D.A.R.E. programs and law enforcement, or not spending the money at all.
Posted inRural
Tenants unions gain ground across Missouri as renters fight for affordable housing
Renters across Missouri are forming tenants unions to fight rent increases, evictions and limited affordable housing options.
Posted inHealth
Sticker shock: Missourians gamble on higher out-of-pocket costs for their Affordable Care Act plans in 2026
Bronze plan selections surge in Missouri’s Affordable Care Act marketplace for 2026, new data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show.
Posted inHealth
Rural Missourians far more likely to be uninsured than urban residents
Rural Missourians rely more on Medicaid but are still more likely to be uninsured than urban Missourians, as lack of employer coverage and access barriers take hold across the state.
Posted inHealth
‘Forever chemicals’ surge past federal limits in some Missouri water systems
New EPA data show contamination across the state. But removing the forever chemicals could cost millions and take years.
Posted inRural
A Missouri pilot program reimagines rural hospitals as the central hub for more than health care
The Missouri pilot program taps a federal waiver to allow rural hospitals to use funding for things like home repairs, utility costs or food assistance in hopes of improving rural Missourians’ health and saving hospitals money.