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CT Latino-led institute aims to build trust in clinical research and trials amid DEI federal cuts
Cris Villalonga-Vivoni, CT Insider, Oct. 2
As diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives face deep federal funding cuts, a group of Latino researchers and medical experts hopes that a new research institute can help rebuild trust with underserved communities in part by improving access to clinical trials and research. The National Hispanic Health Research Institute, launched in August and led by the Connecticut-based Hispanic Health Council, aims to improve access to diverse clinical research and to build stronger relationships between experts and the community — all with the goal of better understanding and addressing health disparities. Although Latinos make up roughly 20% of the U.S. population, they remain significantly underrepresented in clinical research and trials.
She found a lump. Her doctors made the experience much worse.
James Causey, Center for Health Journalism, Oct. 6
Black women are 38% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, despite having a 5% lower incidence of the disease. Research has found that Black women are less likely than white women to start treatment within 60 days of diagnosis. Nikea Gamby-Turner, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30, was not shocked when she learned Black women are much less likely to schedule a follow-up appointment after receiving an abnormal mammogram. After she was diagnosed, she felt belittled by her medical team, who made assumptions about her ability to afford treatment and condemned her choices after she requested a second opinion.
ICE fears put pregnant immigrants and their babies at risk
Mel Leonor Barclay and Shefali Luthra, The 19th, Oct. 7
Across the country, medical providers who serve immigrant communities said fewer patients are coming in for prenatal or other pregnancy-related care. As a result, patients are experiencing dangerous complications, advocates and health care providers said. Many patients — nervous about encountering immigration officials if they leave their homes, drive on public roads or visit a medical clinic — are skipping virtually all of their pregnancy-related health care. According to the federal Office of Women’s Health, infants born to parents who received no prenatal care are three times more likely to have a low birth weight and five times more likely to die than those born to parents who received regular care.
As Trump punts on medical debt, fight over patient protections moves to states
Noam N. Levey, Katheryn Houghton, and Arielle Zionts, KFF Health News, Sept. 25
The Trump administration is scaling back federal efforts to protect Americans from medical bills they can’t pay, and advocates for patients and consumers have shifted their work to contain the nation’s medical debt problem to state Capitols. An estimated 100 million adults in the U.S. have some form of health care debt, and advocates say it will get worse as millions of Americans lose health coverage under cutbacks in the recently passed tax and spending law.
Opinion: With health coverage at risk, CT has a chance to lead
Tiffany Donelson, CT Insider, Oct. 3
The new federal law, known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” or HR1, has the potential to devastate our state’s safety net, leaving more than 100,000 of our neighbors without health care coverage. Many thousands will face cuts to the assistance they rely on to buy food. Our state has no choice but to implement this law, but there are things we can do to minimize the harm. Connecticut is well-positioned to do so: We have both a track record of policies that support health and the resources to make a difference.