Health News Roundup

The scarcity of minority teachers in Connecticut, and more in this week’s roundup

health care reform

Inside North Carolina’s big effort to transform health care
Steve Lohr, The New York Times, August 26
North Carolina seems like an unlikely laboratory for health care reform. It refused to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, and ranks in the bottom third among states in measures of overall health. But the state has embarked on one of the country’s most ambitious efforts to transform how health care is defined and paid for. North Carolina is in the early stages of turning away from the traditional fee-for-service model, in which doctors and hospitals are paid for each office visit, test or operation. Instead, providers will often be paid based on health outcomes like controlling diabetes patients’ blood sugar or heart patients’ cholesterol.

connecticut

Back to school: Closing the minority teacher gap
Bill Sarno, CT Latino News, August 28
Minority students are usually more successful when their teachers reflect their racial or ethnic groups. Moreover, minority teachers are beneficial to all students to help create an awareness of and appreciation for diverse populations. While leaders in education acknowledge this, the fact remains that minority teachers, especially those of Hispanic backgrounds, remain relatively scarce in Connecticut.

CT offers limited protections if ACA is tossed
Ana Radelat, The Connecticut Mirror, August 22
If the Affordable Care Act is abolished as the result of a legal battle over the health care law, not only will more than 300,000 state residents lose coverage, but a majority of those in Connecticut could be affected. That’s because Connecticut laws aimed at protecting consumers apply only to a minority of health insurance policies that cover state residents, and are limited in their scope and effectiveness.

first person

A child bumps her head. What happens next depends on race.
Jessica Horan-Block, The New York Times, August 24
Research shows that black and Hispanic pediatric emergency room patients with minor head trauma are two to four times more likely to be evaluated and then reported (as suspected abusive head trauma) when compared with white, non-Hispanic patients. Once there are suspicions of abuse, black children are more likely to receive invasive testing like full body X-rays.