Nada Hassanein

Nada Hassanein

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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.

Mixed-status immigrant households expected to lose benefits under new public charge rule
Stateline

Mixed-status immigrant households expected to lose benefits under new public charge rule

Sep 11, 2026
Nada Hassanein
New rules going into effect next week allow immigrants’ enrollment in safety net resources to be taken into account for lawful immigration status applications, the latest in the Trump administration’s immigration overhaul. The rules will have wide implications for mixed-status...
Immigration activity is taking a toll on children’s health, doctors say
Stateline

Immigration activity is taking a toll on children’s health, doctors say

Sep 02, 2026
Nada Hassanein
In Minnesota, an elementary schooler has gone without surgery to treat a rare, life-threatening neck infection that isn’t responding to antibiotics. Another young child can’t use their hearing aids because the family ran out of batteries and hasn’t come to...
LGBTQ+ adults more likely to miss or forgo healthcare, survey finds
Stateline

LGBTQ+ adults more likely to miss or forgo healthcare, survey finds

Aug 31, 2026
Nada Hassanein
LGBTQ+ adults are more likely than other adults to miss healthcare appointments due to cost or other reasons — with a third reporting their health worsened as a result, according to a new survey by health policy research group KFF...
Federal agency blocks Medicaid coverage of kids’ gender-affirming care
Stateline

Federal agency blocks Medicaid coverage of kids’ gender-affirming care

Aug 12, 2026
Nada Hassanein
A new federal rule will end Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming hormone therapies and procedures for kids under age 18. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Tuesday a rule that prohibits state Medicaid plans from covering gender-affirming procedures for...
New drug-resistant fungal disease increases among vulnerable patients
Stateline

New drug-resistant fungal disease increases among vulnerable patients

Aug 10, 2026
Nada Hassanein
Twenty-eight states this year have reported over 3,500 cases of patients sick with the drug-resistant yeast candida auris, which can cause severe illness and is often reported in healthcare facilities. As of Aug. 1, 3,544 clinical cases of candida auris...
Courts rule Trump administration can’t cancel $22B in climate grants
Stateline

Courts rule Trump administration can’t cancel $22B in climate grants

Aug 05, 2026
Nada Hassanein
Two courts this week dealt blows to the Trump administration’s attempts to withdraw clean energy and climate grants. A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency could not terminate $20 billion in clean energy grants awarded...
Judge rejects states’ bid to block Medicaid work rules
Stateline

Judge rejects states’ bid to block Medicaid work rules

Jul 31, 2026
Nada Hassanein
States will have to meet a Jan. 1 deadline to implement new Medicaid work requirements, after a federal judge denied 25 Democratic-led states’ request to pause implementation of the rule. The broad tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed...
Rise in US preteen suicide rate alarms mental health experts
Stateline

Rise in US preteen suicide rate alarms mental health experts

Jul 28, 2026
Nada Hassanein
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988, the U.S. suicide and crisis lifeline, or access online chat at 988lifeline.org . For months, Marie’s 11-year-old daughter wasn’t acting like herself. The fifth grader was...
Trump proposal to end employer race, gender reporting advances
Stateline

Trump proposal to end employer race, gender reporting advances

Jul 21, 2026
Nada Hassanein
A federal commission voted Tuesday in favor of a Trump administration proposal to rescind requirements that larger employers report the demographics of their workers — information that’s used to help enforce racial and gender antidiscrimination laws. Most employers with 100...
Indigenous violence survivors see fewer services after federal cuts
Stateline

Indigenous violence survivors see fewer services after federal cuts

Jul 15, 2026
Nada Hassanein
Organizations serving American Indian and Alaska Native survivors of violence say reductions in federal funding have led to over 1,000 unmet requests for help, according to a new report. The Urban Indian Health Institute, an Indigenous health research group, surveyed...
Obamacare premiums likely to surge again next year
Stateline

Obamacare premiums likely to surge again next year

Jul 08, 2026
Nada Hassanein
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
Stateline

More states try to give patients relief from medical debt

Jul 01, 2026
Nada Hassanein
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...