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Some CT community health centers cutting dental care due to insufficient Medicaid reimbursement
Alex Putterman, CT Insider, Feb. 25
Several community health centers in Connecticut are cutting back on dental care — or eliminating it entirely — due to insufficient Medicaid reimbursement rates. Community Health & Wellness Center, which has offices in Torrington, Winsted, and North Canaan, is among those no longer offering dental care at all. CEO Joanne Borduas said her health center lost $350,000 in 2024 on major dental procedures alone, not counting routine care. “We have struggled for decades to get compensated at cost,” she said. Connecticut’s community health centers are the primary medical, dental, and behavioral health provider for more than 400,000 residents. More than 60% of community health center patients are covered by Medicaid and 16% are uninsured.
Medicaid could be on the chopping block. Here’s what potential cuts could mean for New England.
Emily Spatz and Neena Hagen, The Boston Globe, March 5
Medicaid is facing potential major cuts that would be devastating not only to the people who rely on the coverage but also to care providers, experts said. Medicaid helps cover medical costs for 21 percent of Americans nationally, including children, the elderly, pregnant people, and people with disabilities who are low-income. Connecticut is one of four New England states that has higher rates of residents enrolled in Medicaid than the national average. A budget proposal passed by House Republicans does not specify how much would be cut from Medicaid. “It’s basically passing the buck to the states and forcing the states to make the tough choices, the politically painful choices,” said Edwin Park, a research professor at Georgetown University.
High maternity costs hit Black and Hispanic patients hardest: study
Maya Goldman, Axios, March 3
Black and Hispanic people paid more out-of-pocket costs for maternal care than Asian and white people, on the same commercial insurance, according to a new study. Researchers said the cost burdens of maternity care may exacerbate significant racial disparities. Black mothers in the United States are three times more likely than white mothers to face pregnancy-related deaths. About 80% of those deaths are preventable. Prenatal care, which plays an important role in preventing complications during birth, cost Black enrollees 74% more than white people according to the study.
Interrupted access to unique maternal health database rattles researchers
Anil Oza, STAT News, March 3
To understand the state of infant and maternal health in the United States, researchers have relied on a unique annual survey called PRAMS for nearly four decades. However, in recent weeks, researchers have found themselves locked out of the database with no warning. State health departments, which administer the surveys, have been directed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cease data collection. The CDC said the interruption is temporary and was the result of efforts to make the survey compliant with some of President Trump’s executive orders. “If we can’t see this information, we cannot develop public health strategies to improve our maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States,” said Marian Jarlenski, a professor of health policy at the University of Pittsburgh.
Synthetic hair marketed to Black women contains carcinogens and lead, report finds
Kaitlyn Schwanemann, NBC News, March 3
Ingredients that can cause cancer were found in 10 synthetic hair products used in braids, extensions and other hairstyles popular with Black women, according to a new report. Lead, which can cause serious health and developmental problems, was also found in nine of the 10 packs of synthetic hair surveyed. Synthetic hair has been a staple in protective hairstyles for Black women, and can be worn for weeks at a time, worrying experts about longer exposure to the chemicals.