The GOP Keeps Pushing Medicaid Work Requirements, Despite Setbacks
Work requirements in Medicaid expansion programs are back on the agenda in many statehouses — despite their lackluster track record. In Mississippi, the idea has momentum from GOP lawmakers advancing legislation to expand Medicaid. In Kansas, the Democratic governor proposed work requirements to try to soften Republican opposition to expansion. (She’s had little luck, so […]
Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirements Costing Taxpayers Millions Despite Low Enrollment
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s Georgia Pathways to Coverage program has seen anemic enrollment while chalking up millions in start-up costs — largely in technology and consulting fees. Critics say the money’s being wasted on a costly and ineffective alternative to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
Toxic Gas That Sterilizes Medical Devices Prompts Safety Rule Update
The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening regulation of ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic gas used to sterilize medical devices. The agency is trying to balance the interests of the health care industry supply chain with those of communities where the gas creates airborne health risks.
Opposition to Medicaid Expansion Thaws in an Unexpected Place: The Deep South
For more than a decade, some Southern states have resisted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, even though data suggest it could help their residents. Today, the large majority of uninsured Americans who would gain coverage under Medicaid expansion — and who would benefit from affordable access to care — live in non-expansion states […]
Southern Lawmakers Rethink Long-Standing Opposition to Medicaid Expansion
While many Republican state lawmakers remain firmly against Medicaid expansion, some key leaders in holdout states are showing a willingness to reconsider. Public opinion, financial incentives, and widening health care needs make resistance harder.
Rising Suicide Rate Among Hispanics Worries Community Leaders
The suicide rate for Hispanics in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade. The reasons are varied, say community leaders and mental health experts, citing factors such as language barriers, poverty, and a lack of bilingual mental health professionals.
Líderes comunitarios alarmados por el aumento de la tasa de suicidios en hispanos
Incluso niños hispanos en edad escolar han intentado hacerse daño o han expresado pensamientos suicidas, indican investigaciones.
El altísimo costo de tener una enfermedad autoinmune en Estados Unidos
A pesar de ser muy frecuentes, encontrar ayuda para muchas enfermedades autoinmunes puede resultar frustrante y costoso.
How the Thyroid Gland Mystifies Doctors and Patients
This illustrated report has been adapted from a KFF Health News article, “Many Autoimmune Disease Patients Struggle With Diagnosis, Costs, Inattentive Care” by Andy Miller, with artwork by Oona Tempest.
Many Autoimmune Disease Patients Struggle With Diagnosis, Costs, Inattentive Care
Despite the prevalence of autoimmune conditions, like the thyroid disease Hashimoto’s, sometimes finding help can prove frustrating as well as expensive. There are often no definitive diagnostic tests, so patients may rack up big bills as they search for confirmation of their condition and for treatment options.
In Move to Slash CDC Budget, House Republicans Target Major HIV Program Trump Launched
Republicans in Congress have proposed substantial cuts to the budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, taking aim at one of former President Donald Trump’s major health programs: a push to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S.
Artificial Intelligence May Influence Whether You Can Get Pain Medication
To contain the opioid crisis, health and law enforcement agencies have turned to technology to monitor doctor and patient prescription data. Experts have raised questions about how these systems work and worry about their accuracy and potential biases. Some patients and doctors say they’re being unfairly targeted.
As Nonprofit Hospitals Reap Big Tax Breaks, States Scrutinize Their Required Charity Spending
Nonprofit hospitals avoid paying taxes if they provide community benefits such as charity care. More states are examining that trade-off, scrutinizing the extent of hospitals’ spending on their communities.
CDC to Reduce Funding for States’ Child Vaccination Programs
Citing the recent debt ceiling deal, the CDC is trimming its funding to child vaccination programs that focus on communities vulnerable to disease outbreaks. The cuts come despite data showing the percentage of children getting vaccinated has dropped in recent years.
Lead Contamination Surfaces in Affluent Atlanta Neighborhood
The Environmental Protection Agency recently confirmed high lead levels in an upscale Atlanta neighborhood. The location stands in contrast to many polluted sites investigated by the federal Superfund program — often in former industrial or waste disposal areas where environmental racism has left marginalized groups at risk.
Special Medicaid Funds Help Most States, but Prompt Oversight Concerns
Georgia is among 35-plus states that have used an under-the-radar federal funding mechanism to boost payments for hospitals and other providers under Medicaid. But a government watchdog and a congressional advisory commission say sparse oversight makes it hard to tell if the “directed payments” program is meeting its goals.
¿Ayudan las nuevas guías sobre opioides a los pacientes con dolor crónico?
Las recomendaciones dejaron a muchos pacientes lidiando con las consecuencias para la salud mental y física de la reducción rápida de la dosis o la suspensión abrupta de los medicamentos que habían estado tomando durante años, lo que conlleva riesgos de abstinencia, depresión e incluso suicidio.
New CDC Opioid Guidelines: Too Little, Too Late for Chronic Pain Patients?
In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for prescribing opioids for pain, allowing physicians more flexibility. But doctors, patients, and advocates wonder if the updated standards will be too little, too late to help chronic pain patients in a country still focused on fighting the ongoing opioid crisis.
Unmet Needs: Critics Cite Failures in Health Care for Vulnerable Foster Children
More states are moving to specialized managed-care contracts solely to handle medical and behavioral services for foster kids. But child advocates, foster parents, and even state officials say these and other care arrangements are shortchanging foster kids’ health needs.
Abrumados por los costos, hospitales crean sus propias agencias de enfermería
Cada vez más sistemas hospitalarios están creando equipos internos de personal para hacer frente a la escasez de enfermeras provocada por la pandemia, y para tratar de vencer a las agencias privadas de personal temporal con sus propias armas.
