A brand-new, out-of-state dark-money group launched an attack on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama over the past week, and has already invested over $320,000 in negative television advertising alone.  During some of this weekend’s largest SEC football matchups, including Alabama vs. Oklahoma, the group ran a shock-style message that is now being pushed […]

Jackson Hospital & Clinic, Inc. in Montgomery, which bankruptcy filings have described as carrying between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities, filed a lawsuit last week against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, claiming they are to blame for the hospital’s impending closure. In the December 18 filings, Jackson makes sweeping and accusatory […]

While the holiday season can be a time of joy and celebration, it can also bring stress, exhaustion and burnout. With what can seem like an endless roster of social events, gift-giving obligations and the pressure to create the perfect holiday experience, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. Burnout does not have to ruin […]

Governor Kay Ivey signed an order on Thursday creating the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Advisory Group, which is designed to “hit the ground running” if Alabama secures federal approval for a sweeping new rural-health overhaul tied to President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. “The creation of the Rural Health Transformation Advisory Group enables Alabama […]

Montgomery’s city and county governments took different approaches this week on whether to provide additional financial support to Jackson Hospital. Officials acknowledge the outcome will have significant consequences for healthcare access in the River Region. Yesterday, the Montgomery City Council voted to approve additional funding for Jackson Hospital, increasing the city’s total financial commitment from […]

The University of Alabama’s University Medical Center in Tuscaloosa announced it is expanding specialty services as one of Alabama’s largest private neurology practices prepares to join its system, a move expected to strengthen patient access to neurological and sleep-medicine care across West Alabama. According to the University, Alabama Neurology and Sleep Medicine will transition to […]

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has been awarded a $2.8 million National Institutes of Health grant to support a groundbreaking biomedical experiment that will send human brain tissue models into space in hopes of unlocking new insights into Alzheimer’s disease. The project — officially titled “Exploiting accelerated aging associated with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) […]

Student veterans from Auburn University and The University of Alabama completed a powerful show of unity and resilience this week as they wrapped up the annual 151-mile Operation Iron Ruck, a multi-day march bringing attention to the crisis of veteran suicide. The march began last Wednesday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. It concluded Saturday at […]

Before sunrise, a small-town pharmacist unlocks her doors. She already knows who’s stretching insulin, who’s working double shifts while caring for an aging parent, and which neighbor depends on today’s refill to keep working tomorrow. Her quiet presence holds that town together more than any headline ever could. That same ethic — trust, responsibility, and […]

U.S. Senator Katie Britt is pushing bipartisan legislation aimed at improving maternal health care, saying Alabama and the nation should not accept preventable pregnancy-related deaths as a reality in 2025. Britt recently reintroduced the NIH IMPROVE Act, which would secure consistent federal funding for research on maternal care and mortality. The measure would authorize more […]

The Alabama Coalition for Healthy Mothers and Children is expanding its work to combat child hunger and support vulnerable families in Alabama’s Black Belt, strengthened this month by a new donation from Mark Cuban, that will be doubled through a generous matching pledge. For seven years, ACHMC has worked in all 67 counties to connect […]

Alabamians know how to stretch a dollar. We balance our checkbooks, pay our taxes, and work hard to take care of our families. But when it comes to the cost of prescription drugs, Big Pharma keeps moving the goalposts and Alabamians keep paying the price. Over the past decade, the cost of essential medications has […]

Mary’s hospital might close. Mary is a mother in rural Alabama who faced a difficult pregnancy and gave birth prematurely to a fragile baby. Her local hospital, the only one with an obstetrics ward in her county, was where her child received lifesaving care. For Mary, that hospital isn’t just a building; it’s the reason […]

Alabama has long been home to groundbreaking medical research, and at the forefront of these efforts is the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). From life-saving cancer treatments to advances in cardiovascular care, UAB’s work touches thousands of lives every day. Yet one area that deserves even more attention is Parkinson’s disease-a neurological condition that […]

Alabama lawmakers will enter the 2026 legislative session facing a major financial decision over public educators’ health insurance. Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) warns the rising cost of the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) is squeezing out resources meant for classrooms. Ledbetter told Yellowhammer News that PEEHIP is “looking at $380 million” […]

Recent studies report that 1 in every 35 children in this country have been diagnosed with autism, yet so much about Autism Spectrum Disorder remains a mystery. In a state with some of the country’s most prestigious medical research institutions, tens of thousands of Alabamians are impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and long for […]

Regional Medical Center of Central Alabama (RMCCA) has announced plans to convert its Greenville facility into a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH), a major restructuring that will end inpatient services and eliminate roughly 90 jobs across multiple departments. The hospital shared the news in a press release on its Facebook page. Hospital leaders say the change, […]

It’s a shame Veterans Day isn’t every day. It’s nice to remind our veterans how much they matter, but, unfortunately, sometimes other interests matter more on the other 364 days of the year. Since the Civil War, Alabama has built a rich military history and a reputation for producing millions of America’s finest warfighters – […]

As Alabama continues to face one of the lowest cardiac arrest survival rates in the country, community leaders in Birmingham and Huntsville are stepping up efforts to train more residents in lifesaving CPR techniques. According to the American Heart Association, only three percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive in […]

On Thursday, Governor Kay Ivey announced Alabama has officially submitted its plan for the federal Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Today’s handoff follows Congress’s July passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill which included a provision standing up a new $50 billion program to help states strengthen […]

On Tuesday, the Medical Association of the State of Alabama and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama (BCBSAL) announced progress in improving the “prior authorization” process, they jointly reported.  Prior authorization is a tool insurance companies use to confirm that certain treatments, medications, or tests are clinically appropriate and covered under a patient’s health […]

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has awarded HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology over $2 million through the Alabama Research and Development Advancement Fund to support three initiatives using biotechnology to strengthen Alabama’s agriculture and forestry sectors. Auburn University and the University of Alabama also received funding in this round. ADECA made the full list of awards available on Monday. “Researchers […]

University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System has named experienced health care executive Janet Hadar as its next chief operating officer, effective Jan. 12, 2026. Hadar joins UAB Health System with more than 20 years of health care experience leading clinical operations, ambulatory campuses, service lines, system integration and community engagement projects. Most recently, Hadar served […]

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) questioned entrepreneur and television star Mark Cuban on the cost of prescription drugs in a Special Committee on Aging hearing on Wednesday. In 2022, Cuban, who previously starred in 15 seasons of ABC’s Shark Tank, co-founded Cost Plus Drugs, a public benefit corporation focused on selling prescription drugs at dramatically […]