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How $1 million will be used to help women leaving CT prison with health care access
Cris Villalonga-Vivoni, CT Insider, Nov. 25
Community Health Center Inc. will be working with the only state prison for women, York Correctional Institute, to offer health services and care coordination to women released from the facility. The goal is to create a transition plan to ensure the women have access to care, and to address some of the barriers they may face such as gaps in health insurance coverage and logistical problems accessing services. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, when formerly incarcerated people can access health care, they are more likely to lead healthier lives which can improve their employment, housing, and support networks.
A third woman died under Texas’ abortion ban. Doctors are avoiding D&Cs and reaching for riskier miscarriage treatments.
Lizzie Presser and Kavitha Surana, ProPublica, Nov. 25
After losing her pregnancy at 11 weeks, Porsha Ngumezi required two transfusions after losing so much blood over the course of six hours at the emergency department in a Houston hospital. Her mother-in-law, a former physician, told her she needed a procedure known as a D&C, to stop the bleeding. While a D&C is common for first-trimester miscarriages, it is also used for abortions. Doctors said Texas’ abortion ban has changed the way they see the procedure. In Ngumezi’s case, the doctor opted instead to give her a drug called misoprostol. The 35-year-old mother of young sons died three hours later. Her death was preventable, according to more than a dozen doctors who reviewed her case for ProPublica.
Premature births in the U.S. remain at an all-time high, the March of Dimes reports
Erika Edwards, NBC News, Nov. 14
There have been no improvements in the preterm birth rate in the last 10 years according to a new report. The report points to inadequate prenatal care in the U.S., particularly in the South, complicated by abortion restrictions, air pollution, and extreme heat. Inadequate prenatal care has reached its highest level in a decade at 15.7%. Experts worry the problem could get worse as pregnant women increasingly go without doctors’ care amid an exodus of OB-GYNs in states with strict abortion bans. Babies born premature are often at higher risk for physical or intellectual disabilities.
Report outlines coverage gaps for mental health care in Connecticut
Sujata Srinivasan, Connecticut Public Radio, Nov. 25
In Connecticut, fewer psychologists and social workers accept patients covered by Medicaid compared to neighboring New England states. A report from the Office of Health Strategy states that the reimbursement rates by state Medicaid, or HUSKY, were as low as 47% compared to commercial insurance rates. The report also found that more than 1.5 million people in Connecticut lived in places with mental health workforce shortages. “Addressing payment parity, by ensuring behavioral health care providers receive payment rates comparable to their physical health providers, is one important piece of a complex issue,” said Dr. Deidre Gifford, OHS commissioner.
Disparities in hearing aid use
Maya Goldman, Axios, Nov. 25
A new study found that white seniors in the United States are more likely to use hearing aids than Black and Hispanic seniors. Traditional Medicare does not provide hearing coverage, and hearing aids may cost thousands of dollars. Hearing aids are now available over the counter for people with moderate hearing loss, which may not be reflected in this data. Study authors said the findings show that “racial and ethnic disparities in hearing aid use would likely persist without more targeted efforts to increase access and reduce inequalities.”