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Tags: Affordable Care Act, Black, Connecticut, Coverage and Access, Health Equity, Women

Health News Roundup

Health care for thousands in CT at risk, the silent struggle black women face, and more in this week’s roundup

health disparities

Here’s why many black women are silent about their struggle with infertility
Danielle Braff, The Chicago Tribune, June 29
Black women are almost twice as likely to experience infertility than white women, studies suggest, but they seek medical help for it half as much. “African American women may face the stereotype of being more fertile than other women,” said Janelle Luk, medical director and co-founder of Generation Next Fertility in New York. “Although a completely incorrect assumption, this brings on stigma to infertile women. It may lead to feelings of inadequacy and shame, despite it sometimes being out of a woman’s control.”

Listen: Black pharmacists are helping close a cultural health care divide
Niala Boodhoo, Illinois Public Media, July 9
Cara Anthony, a Kaiser Health News Midwest correspondent, is interviewed on “The 21st” on Illinois Public Media by Niala Boodhoo about how black pharmacists are helping fill a void for African American patients seeking medical care that acknowledges their heritage, beliefs and values. Anthony reported how such care can bridge generations of mistrust of the medical profession and even improve patients’ health.

The gap between rich and poor Americans’ health is widening
Susie Neilson, NPR, June 28
Researchers compared Americans’ health status today with that of 25 years ago and found that health is worsening among lower-income Americans. Across all groups, Americans’ self-reported health has declined since 1993. And race, gender and income play a bigger role in predicting health outcomes now than they did in 1993. Overall, white men in the highest income bracket were the healthiest group.

First person
Rajul Punjabi, Vice, June 4 
Young Black and Latinx people in the U.S. have a very different relationship with mental illness than their white peers, including higher rates of attempted suicide. And in communities of color, it’s still largely taboo to talk about mental illness openly, let alone seek help for it. Data shows that many of these young people don’t seek it, or when they do, have very limited access.
affordable care act
Ana Radelat and Jenna Carlesso, The Connecticut Mirror, July 8
A federal appeals court is hearing arguments in a case that could invalidate the Affordable Care Act, which would imperil health care coverage for tens of thousands of people in Connecticut. Those at risk of being impacted include 111,000 residents who purchase their insurance through Access Health CT, and another 267,722 low-income adults that have coverage through the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid, known as HUSKY D in Connecticut.

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