Author's posts
Georgians With Disabilities Are Still Being Institutionalized, Despite Federal Oversight
For nearly 15 years, the feds have had oversight of Georgia’s treatment of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Observers say the state still jeopardizes some of its most marginalized residents by not meeting the terms of its settlement with the Justice Department.
Vance Wrongly Blames Rural Hospital Closures on Immigrants in the Country Illegally
Experts disputed the claim by Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, noting that a range of other issues — from low reimbursement rates to declining patient use — combine to cause these facilities to shutter.
If Lawsuit Ends Federal Mandates on Birth Control Coverage, States Will Have the Say
An ongoing lawsuit aims to set aside the Affordable Care Act’s requirements that insurers cover preventive care, such as contraception. If that happens, state reproductive health laws — varying across the country — would carry more weight, resuming the “wild West” dynamic from before Obamacare.
Americans With HIV Are Living Longer. Federal Spending Isn’t Keeping Up.
Advances in medicine mean more people are living longer with HIV. But aging with HIV comes with an increased risk of health complications, and many worry the U.S. health care system isn’t prepared to treat this growing population.
Mental Health Courts Can Struggle to Fulfill Decades-Old Promise
Mental health courts have been touted as a means to help reduce the flow of people with mental illness into jails and prisons. But the specialized diversion programs can struggle to live up to that promise, and some say they’re a bad investment.
PrEP, a Key HIV Prevention Tool, Isn’t Reaching Black Women
New HIV infections occur disproportionately among Black women, but exclusionary marketing, fewer treatment options, and provider wariness have limited uptake of preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, drugs, which reduce the risk of contracting the virus.
PrEP prevents HIV infections, but it’s not reaching Black women
A significant number of new HIV infections happen among Black women, and a health education effort in Atlanta wants to make sure Black women can access the HIV-prevention medicines known as PrEP.
The CDC Works to Overhaul Lab Operations After Covid Test Flop
In early 2020, U.S. public health labs received covid-19 tests from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that were flawed, as a result of poor design and contamination. Now the CDC is overhauling its lab operations, but efforts to be better prepared for future threats won’t be easy, observers say.
As Federal Emergency Declaration Expires, the Picture of the Pandemic Grows Fuzzier
The pandemic gave federal officials expanded power to access crucial data about the spread of covid-19, but that authority will change when the public health emergency sunsets in May. That, along with the end of popular covid trackers, will make it harder for policymakers and the public to keep an eye on covid and other threats.
Congress Told HHS to Set Up a Health Data Network in 2006. The Agency Still Hasn’t.
Since 2006, federal officials have been charged with setting up a network to let various parts of the U.S. health system share information during emergencies. It still hasn’t been built or even planned, even after the communication and data-sharing failures put on display during the pandemic.
