The state covers basic services for vulnerable residents, including things like air purifiers for kids with asthma. But nonprofits offering the services struggle to work within the health care system.

Poverty, by America author Matthew Desmond says if the top 1% of Americans paid the taxes they owed, it would raise $175 billion each year: "That is just about enough to pull everyone out of poverty."

Putting lawyers in medical clinics — sometimes funded by Medicaid — is based on the idea that fixing some legal woes can be vital to good medical care. Emerging evidence suggests that works.

Eager to control costs and sickness, hospitals and insurers are trying to help patients access better food, housing and transportation. But so far there is little research showing these efforts work.

Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in women, but researchers with Emory Women’s Heart Center say heart disease is preventable with the proper screening, counseling and lifestyle changes. A new study found that high prevalence of obesity and elevated blood pressure among Black women as young as 20 to 30 years old increases their risk.

For five decades, NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center has confronted the ways disparities can hurt its patients' health. Community leaders say it's a model for cities facing similar struggles.