Shalina Chatlani

Shalina Chatlani

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Shalina Chatlani covers health care and environmental justice for Stateline. She recently was a New York Times local investigations fellow, and in prior years has reported on the lack of health care access for underserved communities for the Gulf States Newsroom, a partnership between Southern NPR stations and NPR. Before that she worked at the NPR and PBS station in San Diego, the NPR station in WPLN, and Industry Dive in Washington, D.C. Shalina is originally from Jackson, Mississippi, and attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Shalina is deeply passionate about spending time with her adorable lab mix, Daisy.

Migrants detained at ICE facilities launch hunger strikes to protest conditions
In at least four states, migrants detained in ICE facilities have launched hunger strikes in recent weeks to protest the conditions in which they are being held. An ongoing hunger and labor strike at the 1,000-bed Delaney Hall facility in...
Trump administration targets attorneys who file fraudulent asylum claims
In its latest effort to narrow pathways to immigration to the United States, the Trump administration says it will crack down on attorneys who file fraudulent asylum claims for their clients. The U.S. has long granted asylum to people who...
States providing healthcare to immigrants face financial pressures
Budget constraints are forcing liberal-leaning states that spend their own money on healthcare for noncitizens to scale back that aid, as they grapple with federal Medicaid cuts and the expiration of federal subsidies that helped people buy Obamacare plans. Under...
Local health officials prepare for influx of World Cup fans
Health officials from the U.S. cities hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup say they are preparing to deal with infectious diseases, heat-related illness, and an array of other health threats when millions of fans, many of them from overseas, come...
Red states press social service workers into immigration enforcement
An increasing number of conservative states are mandating that state and local social service providers verify and report the immigration status of the people they serve — in some cases threatening stiff penalties for public employees who fail to comply...
More states consider dropping GLP-1 weight loss drugs from Medicaid
Massachusetts and Rhode Island are considering dropping GLP-1 drugs for obesity treatment from their Medicaid programs, continuing a trend of states that have stopped coverage of these expensive medications. Thirteen state Medicaid programs are covering GLP-1 drugs for the treatment...
Republican lawmakers in 3 states want voters to alter or scrap Medicaid expansion
In three conservative states — Missouri, Oklahoma and South Dakota — residents in recent years voted to amend their state constitutions to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Now Republican lawmakers in all three states want voters to alter...
In Medicaid fraud crackdown, feds now looking to audit all 50 states
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said Tuesday that the Trump administration will require every state within 30 days to turn in a plan to revalidate the health care providers that participate...
Trump says he’s going after Medicaid fraud, but is mostly focusing on blue states
The Trump administration is taking aim at what it calls rampant fraud in state Medicaid programs. But by focusing almost exclusively on Democratic-led states, it has handed ammunition to critics who say it mainly wants to embarrass its political enemies...
Medicaid expansion boosted access to opioid addiction treatment medication, study says
In the eight states that expanded Medicaid after 2018, the number of people receiving prescriptions for the opioid addiction treatment medication buprenorphine increased dramatically, according to a paper that researchers will present next month. The states that expanded Medicaid before...
The World Cup is around the corner. Are cities and states prepared?
In June, 11 U.S. cities will welcome millions of fans for soccer’s World Cup. Staging the planet’s most popular sporting event is never easy, but this year the conflict in the Middle East and the congressional impasse over funding for...
Three states and New York City join global disease response network
In an extraordinary break from the federal government, the public health departments of at least three states and New York City are joining the global alert network of the World Health Organization, spurred by President Donald Trump’s decision to remove...