States Have Yet to Spend Hundreds of Millions of Federal Dollars to Tackle Covid Health Disparities
A year ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded states and local health departments $2.25 billion to help people of color and other populations at higher risk from covid. But a KHN review shows public health agencies across the country have been slow to spend it.
A un año de recibir millones del gobierno federal, los estados apenas han comenzado a pensar cómo utilizar el dinero que recibieron para zanjar la desigualdad en salud que generó, y agravó, la pandemia.
Even When IVF Is Covered by Insurance, High Bills and Hassles Abound
Only 15 states require insurance to cover in vitro fertilization, a common path to parenthood for people who have trouble getting pregnant. And even for those whose insurance covers IVF, the expensive procedures and required drugs can lead to unexpected bills.
Who Doesn’t Text in 2022? Most State Medicaid Programs
As states prepare for the end of the covid public health emergency, they are making plans to reevaluate each Medicaid enrollee’s eligibility. They will rely primarily on mail and email because not many states can text enrollees.
As US Nears 1 Million Covid Deaths, One Hard-Hit County Grapples With Unthinkable Loss
The United States is nearing 1 million deaths from covid — an almost incomprehensible number of lives lost that few thought possible when the pandemic began. Pennsylvania’s Mifflin County offers a snapshot into how one hard-hit community, with over 300 dead, is coping.
Mientras el país se acerca a un millón de muertes por covid, un condado enfrenta terribles pérdidas
En Pennsylvania, el condado de Mifflin, mayormente anti vacunas, está procesando un duelo por fuera de las estadísticas: 337 muertes por covid. De estas personas, 311 no habían recibido ninguna dosis.
Senators Ask GAO to Examine Medicaid’s Low Covid Vaccination Rates
Sens. Robert Casey Jr. and Ron Wyden want a probe into what barriers are keeping Medicaid plans from reaching enrollees.
Medicare Advantage Plans Send Pals to Seniors’ Homes for Companionship — And Profits
Many Medicare Advantage plans send caregivers to the homes of seniors periodically to help with housework and provide companionship. But the workers may also prod seniors into activities that boost the plans’ Medicare ratings and federal reimbursements.
From Alabama to Utah, Efforts to Vaccinate Medicaid Enrollees Against Covid Run Into Obstacles
Inoculation rates remain low despite massive outreach efforts and incentives from federal and state programs and Medicaid plan operators, leaving many low-income people vulnerable to the virus.
Missouri Takes Months to Process Medicaid Applications — Longer Than Law Allows
Missouri has more people waiting to have their Medicaid applications processed than it has approved since the expansion of the federal-state health insurance program. Although most states process Medicaid applications within a week, Missouri is taking, on average, more than two months. Patient advocates fear that means people will stay uninsured longer, leading them to postpone care or get stuck with high medical bills.