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Thousands of CT residents might be drinking water from lead pipes
Andrew Brown, Jenna Carlesso, Renata Daou, and Shahrzad Rasekh, The Connecticut Mirror, July 27
New data shows that as many as 8,000 lead service lines are still in use in Connecticut’s public water systems. The data provides the first public look at how many people in the state could be consuming water that travels through lead lines. A majority of the suspected lead lines are located in lower-income neighborhoods in Bridgeport, Willimantic, Middletown, New London and Waterbury, places that have significant Black and Hispanic populations. The new data is the result of a federal regulation, finalized in late 2024, that requires public water utilities to identify lead service lines and replace those pipes within the next decade.
A cut to Medicare that could affect millions is buried in Trump’s tax law
Bob Herman, STAT, July 28
Millions of older Americans living in poverty are entitled to free or heavily subsidized Medicare coverage through Medicare Savings Programs. But the new tax law will keep that benefit out of reach for many by reintroducing confusing and onerous paperwork requirements. The new law doesn’t eliminate these Medicare Savings Programs, but it rolls back a regulation that made it a lot easier for people to sign up. It’s a de facto cut for Medicare beneficiaries that’s flown under the radar as health care advocates and industry groups focused their energy on the law’s steep cuts to Medicaid.
California looked to them to close health disparities, then it backpedaled
Vanessa G. Sánchez, KFF Health News, July 28
California looked to professionalize thousands of community health workers to improve the health of immigrant populations. Studies show their work may reduce hospitalizations as well as emergency room and urgent care visits. But six years into a plan to integrate these workers into the health care workforce and provide fair wages, California has backed out of many of those initiatives. With federal funding cuts looming and President Donald Trump targeting immigrants for deportation, advocates fear California is abandoning its health equity initiative for immigrants, people of color, and people with low incomes when they say that effort is needed most.
The number of family caregivers is surging, new AARP report shows
Barbara Rodriguez, The 19th, July 24
More than 63 million Americans, or nearly 1 in 4, have served as a family caregiver for a loved one in the past year. That’s 20 million more than a decade ago, according to findings released by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving. The surge in part reflects the fact that Americans are living longer but in some instances, in poorer health. There is also a growing recognition of who is a family caregiver — a person providing care to an adult or child with a complex medical condition or disability, often without pay. These caregivers are managing financial risks, their own poor health and isolation. Nearly eight million family caregivers rely on Medicaid for their own health care coverage.
Is your health insurance actually Medicaid? Name changes confuse public
Ken Alltucker, USA Today, July 30
Medicaid is a federal-state health insurance program for low-income families that covers more than 1 in 5 Americans. President Donald Trump’s tax cut and spending legislation will trim more than $900 billion in federal spending from Medicaid over the next decade. Despite widespread media coverage of the law, health advocates say millions of consumers who might be affected by Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts likely aren’t aware of the scope of changes. In fact, many might not be aware they’re covered by Medicaid because it’s known by different names in many states. (In Connecticut, Medicaid is known as HUSKY.)