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A billion-dollar plan to bolster rural health in CT
Katy Golvala, The Connecticut Mirror, Dec. 9
Connecticut officials have created a five-year, billion-dollar plan to improve the health of the state’s rural residents. Most of the funding would come from the federal government if the state’s application is approved. Connecticut’s plan includes 31 different initiatives focused on increasing care options in rural areas and facilitating access to that care. Among those initiatives are mobile medical and dental vans and expanded telehealth options. The Rural Health Transformation Program fund was created amid concerns about how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Medicaid cuts would impact rural facilities. Experts say the program likely won’t do enough to make up for the harmful impacts of H.R. 1.
They’re medics, social workers, neighbors and 911. Meet the health care workers who do it all.
Allison Joyce, The Washington Post, Dec. 15
In a remote corner of western North Carolina, paramedics Evan Caroll and Nicole McKinney make old-fashioned medical house calls for nonurgent care. As part of the Community Paramedic Program, the pair visit people who often don’t have cell service and who now live in isolation due to Hurricane Helene washing away bridges. Their work ranges from helping elderly patients monitor their blood pressure to dropping off meals and produce to simply being a friendly face for those who are lonely. They play many roles, all in an effort to make sure people get the help they need before an emergency arises, reducing nonemergency calls and closing health care gaps.
Gen Z doulas are transforming Black birthing care
Neenma Ebeledike, The Sacramento Observer, Dec. 16
At 22 years old, Maddison Brodeur is part of a new generation of Gen Z Black women changing birthing care in their communities. A newly trained doula, she became interested in birth work while learning about racial justice and Black maternal health. “This isn’t just about one birth,” she said. “It’s about healing lineage, reclaiming our bodies and birthing practices, and building a community care system that centers Black women.” The free doula training program for Black women that she participated in, Black Women Birthing Justice, is seeing a growing number of young Black women interested in the field.
‘The baby was completely gray’: Immigrants choose between health care and risk of deportation
Halle Parker, Verite News, Dec. 16
Cristiane Rosales-Fajardo, a grassroots organizer and advocate in New Orleans, has seen firsthand how the fear of deportation is impacting immigrants’ health. She received a panicked phone call from a friend whose Guatemalan tenant had unexpectedly given birth in her home. The tenant refused to go to the hospital out of fear of being detained, even though she and the baby needed help. “These are hard-working people,” Rosales-Fajardo said. “All they do is work to provide for their family. But they were almost at risk of losing their child rather than call 911.” Since President Donald Trump took office, immigrant families nationwide have become more likely to skip or delay health care, due in part to concerns about their legal status, according to a recent survey.
One Big Beautiful Bill Act complicates state health care affordability efforts
Bernard J. Wolfson, KFF Health News, Dec. 16
Congress continues to debate whether to extend the temporary federal subsidies that have helped millions of Americans buy health coverage. However, those subsidies only act as a band-aid, covering the often unaffordable cost of health care. Connecticut is among eight states that have set caps on health care spending in an effort to relieve the intense financial pressure felt by many who face annual increases in premiums, deductibles, and other health-related expenses. Hospitals and other health care providers are citing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as another reason to challenge those limits. Experts predict hospitals and other providers will raise prices to cover lost Medicaid revenue and the cost of caring for an influx of newly uninsured patients as a result of the bill.