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Migrants are skipping medical care, fearing ICE, doctors say
Emily Baumgaertner Nunn, Nina Agrawal and Jessica Silver-Greenberg, The New York Times, May 8
Across the country, medical professionals are increasingly concerned that people are forgoing medical care out of fear of being apprehended by immigration officials. Doctors say they have already noticed an increase in patient anxiety and appointment no-show rates, since the current administration rescinded a policy that protected spaces like hospitals from immigration enforcement. Health care officials warn this could lead to many consequences such as infectious diseases circulating unnecessarily, worsening health care costs because of untreated chronic illnesses, dangerous birth complications for women who wait too long to seek help, among others.
CT officials on federal Medicaid cuts bill: ‘Designed to hurt people’
Katy Golvala, The Connecticut Mirror, May 12
Connecticut officials warn that Medicaid cuts outlined in a Congressional Republican plan would have devastating consequences. The plan provides details for the first time on how the GOP proposes finding $880 billion in spending cuts. Among other measures, the plan would implement 80 hours of work, volunteer, or educational requirements per month for certain enrollees and freeze the hospital tax. That tax allows states to increase the amount of Medicaid funding they receive from the federal government.
Children’s health services could see trims even under scaled-back Medicaid cuts
Shalina Chatlani, Stateline, May 12
Any federal cuts to Medicaid — large or small — would strain state budgets and likely lead to service cuts and coverage for fewer people, according to a new analysis. Child health advocates say they are concerned that states would have to reduce or even eliminate services that help millions of children access routine care that’s critical from birth, such as vaccinations and physical exams. “I think what is missing from some of these debates is [Medicaid] is not only the primary payer for children’s health, it’s also supporting the safety net for children’s health, by paying for hospitals, clinics, physicians and offices,” said Heather Howard, a faculty affiliate with the Center for Health and Wellbeing at Princeton University.
From the foundation: Medicaid: What’s at stake? Part 3: The Medicaid expansion
Arielle Levin Becker, Connecticut Health Foundation, May 13
The Medicaid expansion is one area that has received a lot of attention as a place that Congress might seek to cut. Connecticut was the first state in the country to expand Medicaid in 2010, when the Affordable Care Act passed and opened Medicaid to any adults with low incomes. HUSKY D, as the expansion is known in Connecticut, covers 321,691 residents. There have been many studies on the effects of gaining coverage under the expansion. Benefits include patients getting diagnosed with cancer earlier, better access to care for people with mental health conditions, and fewer deaths among low-income Americans.
A heart to heart talk about Black maternal health
Ashley Winters, The St. Louis American, May 11
At just 25 years old, Tiara Johnson was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), a form of heart failure that happens in the last month of pregnancy or within the first five months after giving birth. Black women are more than three times more likely than white women to die of cardiovascular-related pregnancy complications. Johnson said she was brushed off by her physician when she explained her symptoms of heart failure and was told she had anxiety. “But the reality is, bias in medicine is still very present and for Black women, that bias can be deadly,” she said. She now recommends women know the warning signs, demand to be heard, and have a health support system such as community health workers or doulas who can help advocate for them.