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Solving the U.S. Black maternal health crisis could save lives and dollars
Jennifer Porter Gore, Word in Black, Aug. 25
A new report finds that a few key changes to improve Black maternal and newborn health would save the lives of more than 3,100 Black mothers and 35,000 Black infants, and inject $25 billion into the economy and save $385 million in health care costs. The report from the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility recommends training health care providers in culturally competent, respectful care rooted in Black women’s lived experience and addressing chronic conditions. The report also calls for eliminating maternal care deserts and expanding access to midwives, doulas, and mental health professionals.
When hospitals and insurers fight, patients get caught in the middle
Bram Sable-Smith, KFF Health News, Sept. 2
Sometimes, when hospitals and insurance companies negotiate payment rates, they fail to reach a deal to keep the hospital system and its clinics in the insurer’s network. When that happens, patients face tough choices: pay higher prices upfront, delay care, find new providers, or try to qualify for a 90-day coverage extension. In recent years, 18% of non-federal hospitals experienced at least one documented case of public brinksmanship with an insurance company, and 8% of hospitals went out-of-network with an insurer, at least for a time. Industry observers say these disputes could become more frequent.
What worries CT hospital leaders about Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill
Katy Golvala, The Connecticut Mirror, Sept. 2
Hospital leaders say the new federal reconciliation law will have ripple effects on the health care system that could include reduced services, longer wait times, staff reductions, and closures of programs or facilities. The changes could also drive up costs for people with private insurance, as hospitals try to negotiate higher payment rates from commercial insurers. Other big unknowns stem from new restrictions on the hospital provider tax, which contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to Connecticut’s budget.
Related: How Connecticut officials are preparing for possible massive changes to Medicaid, Ken Dixon, CT Insider, Sept. 2
Language barriers cripple Sikh immigrants’ access to health care
Tanay Gokhale, India Currents, Aug. 19
First-generation Sikh immigrants are one of the largest Indian immigrant groups in California, but they remain invisible in medical settings: They are vulnerable to health challenges because of lower income and education levels, engagement in physically strenuous blue-collar jobs, uncertainty around immigration status, and, most importantly, language barriers in accessing care. As the ongoing immigration crackdown breeds further distrust of traditional health care facilities, community clinics are stepping in to fulfill health needs that remain underserved.