Renuka Rayasam

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rrayasam@kff.org
@renurayasam

A Teen’s Murder, Mold in the Walls: Unfulfilled Promises Haunt Public Housing

For years, federal lawmakers have failed to deliver the money needed to fix derelict public housing, leaving tenants — mostly people of color and families with low incomes — living with mold and gun violence that has had lasting health consequences.

High Price of Popular Diabetes Drugs Deprives Low-Income People of Effective Treatment

The makers of Ozempic and Mounjaro charge list prices of around $1,000 a month for the diabetes and obesity drugs, and insurers are reluctant to pick up the tab. Often, low-income patients have to resort to less effective treatments.

Personas de bajos ingresos no pueden recibir terapias efectivas contra la diabetes por el alto costo

La escasez de suministros y las barreras que ponen las aseguradoras para obtener esta poderosa clase de medicamentos, llamados agonistas de GLP-1, han dejado a muchas personas que viven con diabetes y obesidad sin los medicamentos que necesitan para mantenerse saludables.

As More States Target Disavowed ‘Excited Delirium’ Diagnosis, Police Groups Push Back

After California passed the first law in the nation to limit the disavowed term “excited delirium,” bills in other states are being introduced to help end use of the diagnosis. But momentum is being met with resistance from law enforcement and first responder groups, who cite free speech.

As Foundation for ‘Excited Delirium’ Diagnosis Cracks, Fallout Spreads

Major policy changes and disavowals have made this a watershed year for curbing the use of the discredited “excited delirium” diagnosis to explain deaths in police custody. Now the ripple effects are spreading across the country into court cases, state legislation, and police training classes.

Doctors Abandon a Diagnosis Used to Justify Police Custody Deaths. It Might Live On, Anyway.

The American College of Emergency Physicians agreed to withdraw its 2009 white paper on excited delirium, removing the only official medical pillar of support left for the theory that has played a key role in absolving police of culpability for in-custody deaths.