Natalie Krebs
Health ReporterExpertise: Telling stories about health, Medicaid and maternal health
Education: Masters degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Bachelors degree from the University of Oregon
Favorite Iowa Destination: Yellow River State Forest
Experience:
- Has written features on abortion access and women's health care in Iowa, the opioid epidemic, state health agencies, rural health care access and medical care for elders
- Served as a fellow with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism in 2021, producing an in-depth three part series on COVID-19's impact on Iowa's meatpacking industry and its workers
- Regularly contributes to Side Effects Public Media, a regional health news collaboration exploring the impacts of place, policy and economics on Americans' health
- Has produced features for Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Here & Now and Native News
- Has attended the Association of Health Care Journalists annual conference
- Is an award-winning reporter, including a Best Health/Medical Reporting award from the Public Media Journalists Association in 2024 for "Fixing Understaffed Nursing Homes"
My Favorite Stories
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An Iowa law that bans abortion as early as six weeks of pregnancy is poised to go into effect next week. The law could have rippling effects on abortion care across the Midwest. -
Seniors who are hospitalized with even a minor illness or injury are at risk of "hospital-acquired disability," which puts them at risk of rehospitalizations and a downward spiral that could eventually land them in a nursing home. -
Thirteen states across the U.S., including much of the Midwest, introduced bills this year that could give some rights to embryos and fetuses usually associated with people. None passed but people in the fertility world are concerned that lawmakers will try again and what that means for reproductive rights. -
New proposed rules for nursing home staffing levels by the Biden administration elicited mixed reactions. Nursing home workers say they’re much needed and long overdue. But some Republican governors echo the long-term care industry’s concerns. They say the measures will push some facilities to shut down. -
Recent studies have found elevated levels of nitrate in drinking water correlates with health issues like cancer and thyroid disease — even below what current federal standards deem as safe. But health research necessary to take federal action is slow-going, and some environmental health experts are concerned officials aren’t acting fast enough.
My Latest Stories
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Gov. Kim Reynolds directed the state health department to seek federal approval for Medicaid work requirements, she announced Tuesday. -
The Iowa Maternal Mortality Review Committee's most recent report found the majority of deaths between 2019 and 2021 were preventable. -
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services says it was already "winding down" programs related to COVID funding that were canceled by the federal government this week. -
State lawmakers have proposed adding work requirements to Medicaid as the federal government looks to make potentially drastic cuts to its funding. -
State officials say they are putting a new protocol in place related to the creation of new state jobs. -
The COVID-19 pandemic took a big toll on Iowa’s health care workforce. Today, the state is facing a critical shortage of workers. -
Medication abortion made up 76% of clinician-provided abortions in Iowa prior to the ‘heartbeat’ lawNew data from the Guttmacher Institute found 76% of clinician-provided Iowa abortions were by medication in 2023, the last full year before the state's so-called 'heartbeat' law went into effect. -
Lawmakers in an Iowa House subcommittee advanced a bill that requires abortion providers to post signs and give patients information about abortion reversal procedures. -
The annual Cancer in Iowa report by the Iowa Cancer Registry found Iowa continues to have high rates of new cancers, but also highlights the state's high cancer survival rate. -
State data shows flu cases continue to spike in Iowa, as rates of COVID and RSV remain relatively low.
