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Before a recent spending push, CT sat on piles of opioid settlement cash, KFF study finds
Sujata Srinivasan, Connecticut Public Radio, Feb. 21
Connecticut was among the states that sat on millions of dollars of opioid settlement funds during 2022 and 2023, according to a national database tracking the spending of that money. It found that during that time, Connecticut had received $85 million but $80.5 million of that was not spent or allocated by the state’s Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee. Since the database was published in December, Connecticut has stepped up the pace of its spending. The state’s settlement committee’s largest allocation to date has been $58.6 million to fund a new housing program for unhoused people with opioid use disorder.
Amid critical shortage of nurses in CT, colleges step in. Despite major strides, ‘we’re in a pickle’
Sean Krofssik, The Hartford Courant, Feb. 25
As nursing shortages remain an issue in Connecticut and across the United States, university programs continue to grow in the state. Nursing programs at UConn, Fairfield University, Sacred Heart University, University of Hartford and Quinnipiac University received the most qualified applications for four-year schools in the state. Connecticut has also received $2.9 million in federal funding to train nurses and create opportunities for frontline health care workers. However, experts said there is still work to be done. An estimated 3,000 nurses need to graduate a year to keep up with demand, but Connecticut falls a bit short with 2,181 graduates in 2023.
Many rural patients drive an hour or more for surgery, study finds
Erin Blakemore, The Washington Post, Feb. 23
A new study found that 44% of rural Medicare patients must drive an hour or more for surgery, an increase from 36.8 percent a decade earlier. It found that patients in rural areas typically drive 55 minutes to a hospital, which is far longer than those in more populous areas. Researchers said that during the study period, from 2010 to 2020, 151 rural hospitals closed. They said the closures likely played a role in the increase in travel times. “It’s not acceptable for that large a proportion of patients to drive that far for low-risk surgery that can be performed safely and with high quality at smaller hospitals,” said Cody Mullens, a University of Michigan surgery resident who led the study.
Health care workers are rushing to learn about immigration law in case of ICE raids
Jackie Fortier, NPR, Feb. 25
St. John’s Community Clinic in Los Angeles, California bustles with patients. However, workers there fear it will soon become a lot quieter, as many patients’ fear of mass deportations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement keeps them home. A long-standing policy prevented federal immigration agents from making arrests at or near sensitive locations, including schools, places of worship, hospitals and health centers. It was one of the first policies President Trump rolled back hours after his inauguration. Now, health care centers like St. John’s are racing to teach workers how to read warrants as they train for a new role – teaching patients their constitutional rights.
‘Snowball issue’: CT undocumented immigrants share impact of not having insurance
Cris Villalonga-Vivoni, CT Insider, Feb. 25
Michelle Ham moved to Connecticut from Honduras with her family when she was two years old. Now 21, she has spent years in constant worry of getting sick. As an undocumented immigrant, she does not qualify for HUSKY, the state’s Medicaid program. She’s felt the impact of that firsthand. When she needed surgery for large cysts around her ovaries, she was able to find a doctor who would perform the procedure pro bono. However, when a cyst reappeared she had to pay a lot of money out of pocket for the care she needed. Connecticut has expanded HUSKY insurance to children, regardless of immigration status but advocates are calling for further expansion.