Laura Santhanam
PBS
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by Laura:
How this Medicaid extension throws postpartum parents a lifeline
Four out of 10 births in the U.S. are paid for by Medicaid. Starting this month, pregnant and postpartum people are eligible to receive coverage 12 months after delivery to expand access and improve health outcomes for new parents and families. → Read More
Biden budget calls for future investments in health care as COVID aid runs out
President Joe Biden's budget aims to "leave no American behind" on health care, but people who are uninsured already face costs as COVID money expires. → Read More
Biden gets ‘significant bounce’ in week navigating Russian war, State of the Union
Approval among U.S. adults of President Joe Biden’s handling of Russia's war in Ukraine rose almost 20 percentage points in two weeks, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. → Read More
What two decades of data on overdose suicides shows about mental health care disparities
Overall, rates of intentional overdose appeared to decline among U.S. women, but the aggregated numbers can obscure troubling increases within specific communities. → Read More
How child tax credit payments helped these families stay afloat
Congress failed to extend funding for the credit, and these families reflected on how the payments shaped their lives amid COVID-driven economic uncertainty and how they are getting by now. → Read More
Americans don’t agree on what to call Jan. 6 attack
Roughly half of U.S. adults say an insurrection took place that threatened democracy, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. → Read More
How COVID became an opportunity to feed more kids in Maine
Recent constraints on food supply and rising costs have also stretched school districts thin -- another reminder of the way that COVID has contributed to food insecurity. → Read More
What we know you can do to protect yourself from omicron
Key questions need to be answered about the new COVID-19 variant, omicron, including whether it is more transmissible, produces more severe disease, and responds to vaccines and medicines. → Read More
Where do you fit? Take the Pew Political Party Quiz
To better understand what divides -- and unites -- Americans today, the Pew Research Center created its Political Typology Quiz. → Read More
As Election Day nears, most U.S. adults say future of democracy is under threat
There are two realities on who -- and what -- poses the greatest threat to American democracy, according to this latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. → Read More
Why millions of Americans feel they must choose between caring for loved ones and work
Generations of workers have simply absorbed the chaos of balancing labor and child care, and the pandemic exposed how underappreciated -- and broken -- the nation’s child care system is. What policymakers do next could change the way U.S. families function. → Read More
American Academy of Pediatrics urges FDA to approve COVID vaccines for children under 12
As the U.S. continues inoculating adults and adolescents, questions remain about vaccinating the 48 million kids under the age of 12. With the delta variant raging, almost five times as many children are being hospitalized for COVID-19. The American Academy of Pediatrics has called on the FDA to pick up the pace. William Brangham discusses with Dr. Lee Beers, president of the academy. → Read More
Who can ask about your vaccine status? Here’s what you need to know about HIPAA
HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, protects people’s private health information from being shared by certain health care entities without patient consent. But this 1996 law is far more narrowly defined than most people realize. → Read More
Breakthrough COVID infections show ‘the unvaccinated are now putting the vaccinated at risk’
Occasional breakthroughs are expected with any vaccine, but more transmissible variants spread among so many unvaccinated people in the United States has placed greater strain on highly effective and safe COVID-19 vaccines. → Read More
Why the U.S. is rethinking its approach to poverty
At the end of 2020, more than 50 million people were facing hunger, up 15 million from the year before, according to data from Feeding America, an anti-hunger organization. The pandemic, and the associated stimulus payments and rescue plan are changing how politicians are thinking about fighting poverty. → Read More
For Americans of color considering the COVID-19 vaccine, here’s why trust is so important
The coronavirus pandemic repeats a truth that communities of color in the United States have been saying for generations: They suffer worse health outcomes compared to white communities, and systemic racism drives those disparities. → Read More
Biden inherits a deeply divided nation, but most voters think he will bring unity
The Biden presidency is starting at a precarious point in American history, but a majority of Americans say the next president will do more to bring the country together than to tear it apart, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. → Read More
Biden’s most daunting challenges, according to public health experts
When the dust of the pandemic settles, how will the Biden administration answer questions about who isn’t covered and why? How will it prioritize public health funding, or revamping the nation’s health care infrastructure? → Read More
What’s behind the historic spike in drug overdose deaths under COVID-19
Drug overdoses were linked to more than 81,000 people’s deaths, jumping 18 percent between June 2019 and May 2020, according to recently released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. → Read More
The essential COVID-19 vaccine FAQ
The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and the need for face masks, hand-washing and social distancing remain. But the possibility of at least one vaccine being ready in December offers hope of a reachable goal at the end of a devastating year. → Read More