Medicaid

Nick Fugate has a cognitive disability, but held a job and was independent for years. Then he lost his dishwashing job and learned there are long delays getting help he needs from Medicaid in Kansas.

State lawmakers cut $350 million in Medicaid funding to early childhood intervention therapists last year to help pay for tax cuts. Now rural toddlers are finding it hard to get vital treatment.

People with serious disabilities and their caregivers often struggle to find dentists who have the ability and desire to take care of their teeth. Cost is another issue.

Health officials hoped giving more people health insurance would curtail their use of expensive emergency rooms for routine medical care. But data from Oregon suggest their overall ER use didn't drop.