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CT Medicaid expansion launches for kids of any immigration status
Jenna Carlesso, The Connecticut Mirror, Jan. 10
As of Jan. 1, children 12 and under are now eligible for HUSKY regardless of their immigration status. For many families who do not have permanent legal status, these changes come as some relief from large medical bills and provide a better chance to regularly access care. Advocates are now calling for further HUSKY expansion to remove the age limit.
The medical system has failed Black Americans for centuries. Could reparations be the answer?
Margo Snipe and Julia Craven, Capital B, Jan. 4
It’s estimated that around 8.8 million Black Americans died prematurely between 1900 and 2015 because of the racial health gap. As a result, there is a growing movement for health care reparations that attempt to right egregious wrongdoings in health care. While the larger reparations movement calls for restitution for centuries of structural racism, health care reparations would specifically address past and present harms of the health care system.
Gas stoves are linked to childhood asthma – and advocates want them out of public housing
Jessica Kutz, The 19th, Jan. 10
A new study bolstering evidence of the connection between asthma and gas stovetops has added urgency to calls for federal housing authorities to remove gas stoves from public housing. Although the federal Inflation Reduction Act set aside millions of dollars to aid in the move toward electric appliances, the money is aimed at homeowners, leaving renters out unless rental agencies or landlords take advantage of incentives offered.
Scientists are finding increasing evidence for a link between air pollution and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s
Lauren Gravitz, STAT, Jan. 11
Scientists have known for decades that air pollution has been connected to asthma, heart disease, and a variety of other health impacts. Recently, new research has begun to paint a picture of air pollution as not only dangerous for the heart and lungs but potentially for the brain, as well.
Medicaid expansion linked with fewer postpartum hospitalizations: research
Gianna Melillo, The Hill, Jan. 11
Data show over half of maternal deaths occur in the postpartum period. Lack of insurance coverage can prevent many people from seeking postpartum care. New research shows that states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act saw a 17 percent drop in hospitalizations among women during the first 60 days postpartum.