Sam Whitehead

In South Texas' Rio Grande Valley, many people go without health insurance, and the health system struggles as a result. Similar communities dot the nation.

In the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, 1 in 3 people already lack health insurance. That's expected to get worse as President Trump's spending cuts take effect.

Some lawmakers are pushing to require that Medicaid recipients work in order to get or keep coverage, and some states already try to help them find jobs. But the effects of those efforts are unclear.

President Carter helped lead a global health effort to eradicate the Guinea worm, a painful parasite which once infected more than 3 million people a year. Cases now number about a dozen a year.

Aging with HIV comes with an increased risk of other health problems. Failing to get adequate care could undermine fighting the virus. (Story aired on Weekend Edition Saturday on June 15, 2024.)

Advances in medicine mean more people are living longer with HIV. But aging with HIV comes with increased health risks, and this growing population needs specialized care that's hard to find.

Mental health courts connect people to treatment and keep them out of jail. But they also often come at the price of a guilty plea, and participants say that feels like coercion.

A significant number of new HIV infections happen among Black women, and a health education effort in Atlanta wants to make sure Black women can access the HIV-prevention medicines known as PrEP.

Republicans in Congress back substantial cuts to the budget of the CDC, taking aim at one of former President Donald Trump's major health programs: a push to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S.

Carter leaves behind a legacy of tackling diseases affecting the poor in remote areas — notably Guinea worm disease. "He really put Guinea worm and other neglected tropical diseases on the map," says Adam Weiss of the Carter Center.