Nada Hassanein

Nada Hassanein

[email protected]

Nada Hassanein is a health care reporter for Stateline covering state policy decisions with a focus on inequities. Throughout her journalism career, Nada has sought to shed light on underreported issues affecting diverse communities. Previously, she was USA Today's national environmental and health inequities reporter. Her in-depth reporting included coverage of rural and maternal health inequities, systemic racism and health, environmental and climate justice, and disparities in health outcomes and health care access. Prior, she was a social issues reporter at the Tallahassee Democrat, writing features on immigration, health and domestic violence.

Obamacare premiums likely to surge again next year
Health insurance premiums are likely to grow more expensive next year for those who buy Marketplace plans, after increases this year. Affordable Care Act Marketplace insurers are proposing a median premium increase of 14% for 2027, which would be a...
More states try to give patients relief from medical debt
Legislators in at least six states this year have approved measures related to patient medical debt, according to a report on legislative policy trends released Wednesday by United States of Care, a nonpartisan think tank. Many Americans are struggling to...
Changes to immigration program for domestic violence victims impede safety, advocates say
In March, Michigan attorney Ruby Robinson received a denial notice for legal status for his client — an immigrant woman suffering physical abuse from her husband. Her husband had choked her, Robinson said. Shoved her. Forced unwanted touch. Controlled the...
17 GOP AGs sue California over single-use plastics law
Seventeen Republican attorneys general have sued California over a state law that requires plastic packaging producers to move away from single-use plastics, alleging that the law will raise costs for consumers across the country. Led by Nebraska Attorney General Mike...
Trump administration tightens oversight of state Medicaid demonstration programs
The Trump administration told states last week it will exercise more stringent financial oversight of waivers that states use to design pilot programs under Medicaid, the state-federal program for low-income people and those with disabilities. In letters sent to state...
One US-made drug treats congenital syphilis, and the country is running short
The United States has a shortage of the only first-line medication recommended for pregnant women with syphilis to prevent passing it to their baby, even as congenital syphilis rates have been skyrocketing. Last July, drug manufacturer Pfizer issued a voluntary...
Republican attorneys general urge EPA to classify mifepristone as water contaminant
Republican attorneys general from 14 states and 19 GOP members of Congress are asking U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to classify and regulate the abortion medication mifepristone as a water contaminant. Mifepristone is prescribed as part of a...
Nearly half of adults struggled to afford healthcare last year, survey finds
Forty-six percent of U.S. adults — regardless of insurance type — reported struggling to afford healthcare last year, according to a report released Wednesday by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research think tank. The report analyzed findings from a December...
Court ruling limiting adult gender-affirming Medicaid coverage could have national impacts
A U.S. appeals court ruling last month that upheld West Virginia’s ban on Medicaid coverage for adult gender-affirming surgeries could embolden other states seeking to impose similar restrictions. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March overturned a lower...
More states make it easier for physician assistants to practice
Alabama, Maine and Virginia recently adopted policies that make it easier for physician assistants to practice and serve more patients. Alabama became the 24th state to adopt the PA Licensure Compact, an agreement between states that authorizes these clinicians to...
‘It’s a safe space’: Mobile midwifery clinics meet patients where they are
MIAMI — Midwife Sheila Simms Watson leaned to gently press on the pregnant woman’s belly. Me’Asia Taylor lay on a bed fitted with tie-dyed purple printed sheets in the corner of the RV. Far from a typical camper, this RV...
State policy will determine how many people lose Medicaid under work rules
All 41 states that expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act will see fewer people covered due to new federal work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks. But the percentage of recipients who lose coverage will vary greatly from...