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CT community health centers navigating uncertainty, funding delays
Lisa Hagen, The Connecticut Mirror, Feb. 13
Community health centers across Connecticut continue to feel instability weeks after a federal funding freeze was announced. While the freeze remains on hold in the courts, both providers and patients are feeling the effects. About 60% of patients of these health centers are covered by HUSKY, the state’s Medicaid program. These clinics vary in size, and federal funding makes up different percentages of their budgets. For now, they have been able to keep up with providing services but potential changes to Medicaid, coupled with the uncertainty surrounding federal funding, have left them unsure about the future.
States with abortion bans see more births but also more infant deaths, studies show
Jessica Yang, ABC News, Feb. 18
New research shows the far-reaching effects of the abortion bans that have been enacted across the United States since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. One study found that birth rates rose 1.7% in states with abortion bans. It showed that bans primarily affect racial minorities, younger individuals and those with lower income or education. At the same time, infant deaths rose in states with abortion bans, according to another study. The highest increases were seen in Black infants, infants in Southern states, and infants born with severe medical conditions.
Childbirth can cause high-risk complications. Centering the mother can help.
Sabreen Dawud, The 19th, Feb. 19
After Selena Williams had her child, she was disappointed to find a gap in postpartum support. After months of frequent visits with medical providers during pregnancy, she was shocked by the sudden drop in support after she gave birth. The experience led her to co-found Ziva Retreat, the first full-service night offering of its kind in North Carolina. Her goal is to center the mother following childbirth, knowing that many birth-related complications occur postpartum, and that Black women like herself are at an even higher risk. Experts say postpartum care that encourages ongoing services optimizes the health of birth givers and their children.
As states mull Medicaid work requirements, two with experience scale back
Renuka Rayasam and Sam Whitehead, KFF Health News, Feb. 14
As some Republicans in Congress seek to slash billions from the federal budget, one option they are eyeing is Medicaid work requirements. Meanwhile, Georgia and Arkansas, the only two states to have implemented work requirements, are scaling back. Georgia is the only state with an active program, and is proposing to remove the requirement for people to document work every month and to pay premiums. Arkansas announced efforts to revive its program with fundamental changes, after a legal judgement forced it to shut down in 2019.
AI is impersonating human therapists. Can it be stopped?
Sigal Samuel, Vox, Feb. 10
Over the past few years, AI systems have been misrepresenting themselves as human therapists, nurses, and more. A bill introduced in California aims to change that, by banning companies from developing and deploying AI that pretends to be a human certified as a health provider. It would also give regulators the authority to fine these companies if they do not comply. While AI could make mental health support available to those who can’t afford in-person services, experts say there are many risks. That includes privacy concerns, worries that chatbots could harm users by offering inappropriate advice, and concerns about the known bias AI systems exhibit against women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and religious minorities.