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CT loses $155M in federal aid for public health programs
Keith M. Phaneuf, Katy Golvala and Laura Tillman, The Connecticut Mirror, March 27
The Trump administration canceled roughly $155 million in grants that affect infectious disease management, newborn genetic screenings, and substance abuse prevention in Connecticut. Officials said the cuts would slow state and municipal efforts to identify new infectious strains, enhance vaccination rates, and quickly deliver life-saving treatments to at-risk infants. The Department of Public Health suffered the worst of the cuts, losing $149 million in one day, while the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services estimates it lost about $6 million. While state officials have pledged to try to preserve these programs, questions remain about how much federal aid Connecticut should replace with its own resources.
Hit hard by opioid crisis, Black patients further hurt by barriers to care
Melba Newsome, KFF Health News, April 2
In recent years, the rate of overdose deaths from opioids has grown significantly among Black people. Experts said it is largely due to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is often mixed into heroin and cocaine supplies and can be consumed unknowingly. Black people are half as likely as white people to be referred to or receive treatment, even after a nonfatal overdose. “If you are a Black person and have an opioid use disorder, you are likely to receive treatment five years later than if you’re a white person,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. “Five years can make the difference between being alive or not.”
Gold-standard maternal mortality database in limbo as CDC staff placed on leave
Anil Oza, STAT News, April 1
As part of the sweeping layoffs that impacted the Department of Health and Human Services, the entire staff that oversaw an annual survey to better understand infant and maternal health was placed on administrative leave. The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, or PRAMS, was considered the gold standard in the field. PRAMS is a dataset of survey responses from people who give birth, both before and after birth. It has offered some of the most detailed insights into maternal health and is used by researchers to try to better understand the United States’ disproportionately high maternal mortality rates. Data collection for PRAMS was previously paused to comply with the president’s executive orders. The future of the program is now unclear.
More Americans can’t afford medical care, poll finds
Reed Abelson, The New York Times, April 2
Health care remains unaffordable for millions of Americans, according to a new survey. It found that 11 percent of people said they could not afford medication and care within the past three months, the highest level in the four years the survey has been conducted. More than a third of those surveyed said that if they were to need medical care, they would not be able to pay for it. Experts warn that potential cuts to Medicaid would likely exacerbate the problem. The survey also found widening disparities in access to health care for Black and Hispanic adults.
With few dentists and fluoride under siege, rural America risks new surge of tooth decay
Brett Kelman, KFF Health News, March 27
Dental experts warn that proposed cuts to Medicaid and a growing anti-fluoride movement could exacerbate a crisis of rural oral health and reverse decades of progress against tooth decay. Potential Medicaid cuts could deepen existing shortages of dentists in rural areas, where many residents depend on the program for whatever dental care they can find. Nearly 25 million Americans live in areas without dentists, according to a recent study. At least 230 U.S. counties that have a dire shortage of dentists also have largely unfluoridated water. Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that keeps teeth strong when added to drinking water.