To get these headlines delivered to your inbox every week, sign up for our weekly health news roundup.
Access Health CT launches health insurance broker training program, ‘good for consumers’
Eliza Fawcett, The Hartford Courant, Jan. 19
Access Health CT recently launched a broker academy focused on diversifying the ranks of health insurance brokers across the state. A group of 100 candidates will receive free training for the health insurance licensing process, with the ultimate goal of reducing the number of uninsured people in Connecticut.
Negative descriptors are more likely to appear in health records of Black patients, study finds
Elizabeth Preston, STAT News, Jan. 19
Doctors’ notes are meant to be an objective record of patient interactions. However, a new study found that Black patients had more than double the odds of white patients of having at least one negative term in their notes. The researchers did find that there were fewer negative terms for all patients after the start of the pandemic.
‘Heart’ of Little Shell: Newest federally recognized tribe to open first clinic
Katheryn Houghton, Kaiser Health News, Jan. 20
For the first time, members of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana will have guaranteed access to health services – and see their culture reflected in it. The brick-and-mortar hub is a powerful symbol for a tribe that lacks a reservation, especially given the clinic’s focus on providing care to people who have faced long-standing health barriers that the pandemic underscored.
New conservative target: Race as a factor in COVID treatment
Todd Richmond, Associated Press, Jan. 23
Across the country, states are taking different approaches when considering race as a factor to receiving COVID-19 treatment. Some have barred the practice, while others have allowed it based on the overwhelming evidence that people of color have experienced worse health outcomes due to COVID-19.
More women than men put off medical appointments due to pandemic, survey finds
Kristina Tedeschi Wayne, CT Latino News & Connecticut Health I-Team, Jan. 23
More than one-third of women postponed medical care they thought they needed, compared to roughly a quarter of men. Nationally, Hispanic and Latina women have been disproportionately affected when it comes to accessing medical care, according to a women’s health survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.