Category: Disparities

Black Patients Dress Up and Modify Speech to Reduce Bias, California Survey Shows

Many Black patients also try to be informed and minimize questions to put providers at ease. “The system looks at us differently,” says the founder of the African American Wellness Project.

Reentry Programs to Help Former Prisoners Obtain Health Care Are Often Underused

More than 600,000 people are released from prisons every year, many with costly health conditions but no medications, medical records, a health care provider, or insurance.

For Young People on Medicare, a Hysterectomy Sometimes Is More Affordable Than Birth Control

While Medicare was designed as health insurance for those 65 and older, it also covers people with disabilities who are young enough to still get pregnant. Yet they often struggle to get their birth control covered and end up with large medical bills — or instead opt for hysterectomies or tubal ligations, which Medicare sometimes will cover.

California Explores Private Insurance for Immigrants Lacking Legal Status. But Is It Affordable?

Nearly half a million Californians without legal residency make too much to qualify for Medicaid yet they can’t afford to buy coverage. A state lawmaker is proposing to open up the state’s health insurance exchange as a first step to providing them affordable insurance.

California Says It Can No Longer Afford Aid for Covid Testing, Vaccinations for Migrants

Gov. Gavin Newsom is winding down state assistance for health care services to migrants seeking asylum. He’s lobbying the Biden administration to increase aid along the state’s southern border.

As Covid Grabbed the World’s Attention, Texas’ Efforts to Control TB Slipped

Responding to covid has taken so much attention and energy that some public health workers believe it pushed tuberculosis off people’s radar.

As Opioids Mixed With Animal Tranquilizers Arrive in Kensington, So Do Alarming Health Challenges

The veterinary tranquilizer xylazine, the choice du jour of local drug dealers to cut fentanyl, leads to necrotic ulcers and leaves street medics and physicians confused about how best to deal with this wave of the opioid crisis.

It Takes a Village: Foster Program Is a New Model of Care for Indigenous Children

A foster care program on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota is attracting attention from officials elsewhere as they search for ways to reduce trauma inflicted on Indigenous families, who’ve faced generations of high rates of family separation.

As Pandemic-Era Medicaid Provisions Lapse, Millions Approach a Coverage Cliff

States are trying to reach millions of Medicaid enrollees to make sure those still eligible remain covered and help others find new health insurance.

Unmet Needs: Critics Cite Failures in Health Care for Vulnerable Foster Children

More states are moving to specialized managed-care contracts solely to handle medical and behavioral services for foster kids. But child advocates, foster parents, and even state officials say these and other care arrangements are shortchanging foster kids’ health needs.