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Study: 13% of CT households can’t afford health care costs
David Krechevsky, Hartford Business Journal, Sept. 23
Overall, 13% of working-age households in Connecticut could not afford health care costs in 2022, according to the recently updated Connecticut Healthcare Affordability Index. The index assesses the effect of health care costs on families in the state. It found that more than a quarter of working-age households could not afford basic necessities like housing, food, and child care. “We take great pride in the exceptional quality of life that Connecticut offers,” said State Comptroller Sean Scanlon. “But we cannot truly fulfill our state’s potential if we allow anyone to be left behind, especially when it comes to accessing healthcare and essential services.”
Minority docs likelier to care for poor patients
Tina Reed, Axios, Sept. 24
Doctors of color are more likely to accept Medicaid than their white peers, according to new research. The report found that half of family physicians had a significant number of Medicaid beneficiaries; however Black physicians were 60% more likely to accept those patients. Those who were Latino were 40% more likely. The research underscores how a small subset of primary care doctors may be caring for patients most in need. Very few of all active physicians identify as Black or Latino, Hispanic, or of Spanish origin.
Racism, other social factors may affect Asian Americans’ heart health
Erin Blakemore, The Washington Post, Sept. 22
Researchers and clinicians said immigration status, structural racism, and other social factors may contribute to disparities in cardiovascular health among Asian Americans. “All of these social determinants of health are likely interrelated, and the cumulative impact of these structural and social risk factors contributes to suboptimal cardiovascular health in Asian Americans,” said Nilay S. Shah, one of the researchers. Cardiovascular health can vary widely between subgroups of people and combining them into a single “Asian” category can mask important differences. Asian Americans are also often underrepresented in health research.
Deadly high blood pressure during pregnancy is on the rise
Katheryn Houghton, NPR, Sept. 20
Recent studies show the rates of newly developed and chronic maternal high blood pressure have roughly doubled since 2007. Researchers said it is likely in part due to more testing for the conditions. However, high blood pressure is also one of the leading causes of maternal mortality, a rate which is also climbing. Black and Indigenous people are far more likely to develop and die from high blood pressure in pregnancy than the general population.
First day of a ‘new life’ for a boy with sickle cell
Gina Kolata, The New York Times, Sept. 16
12-year-old Kendric Cromer recently became one of the first children ever to be treated with a newly approved gene therapy for sickle cell disease. The disease has caused him excruciating pain that often led to days in the hospital, eroded his hip bones, and kept him from doing typical childhood activities like riding a bike. The gene therapy is giving him a chance at a new life, but the process to get here has been a slow one. The treatment is only authorized in certain medical centers, and insurance coverage is another barrier.