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Some ACA health insurance plans have lots of enrollees, few providers : Shots
The Affordable Care Act saw a record number of sign ups this year, but some people are having trouble finding doctors in their health plan networks. Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Getty Images The Affordable Care Act saw a record number of sign ups this year, but some people are having trouble finding doctors in their health plan networks. Getty Images The Affordable Care Act may be struggling with its own success. Record enrollment over the last two years brought more consumers into the health insurance market. At the same time, many insurers began offering smaller networks of doctors and hospitals, partly to be price competitive. That combination left…
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Blood pressure checks to fight Black maternal mortality : Shots
Kennise Nevers holds her son, AJ, in her arms at household. Nevers’ mother, Nancy Josey, seems on. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption toggle caption Jesse Costa/WBUR Kennise Nevers retains her son, AJ, in her arms at dwelling. Nevers’ mother, Nancy Josey, appears to be like on. Jesse Costa/WBUR With each feet flat on the flooring, Kennise Nevers settles into the couch in her residing home. She peels open up a blood stress cuff, and straps it around her left arm, exhaling as it squeezes her bicep. Soon after a moment, she receives the reading through. “It is really fantastic,” says the mother of two from Brockton, Massachusetts. Nevers, 37, tracked her…
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Scientists warned a decade ago American lives were shortening. Then it got worse : Shots
Just before Christmas, federal health officials confirmed life expectancy in America had dropped for a nearly unprecedented second year in a row – down to 76 years. While countries all over the world saw life expectancy rebound during the second year of the pandemic after the arrival of vaccines, the U.S. did not. Then, last week, more bad news: Maternal mortality in the U.S. reached a high in 2021. Also, a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association found rising mortality rates among U.S. children and adolescents. “This is the first time in my career that I’ve ever seen [an increase in pediatric mortality] – it’s always been…
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Medical residents unionize at hospitals around the country : Shots
Dr. Leah Rethy is an internal medicine resident with Penn Medicine. Kimberly Paynter/WHYY hide caption toggle caption Kimberly Paynter/WHYY Dr. Leah Rethy is an internal medicine resident with Penn Medicine. Kimberly Paynter/WHYY Dr. Leah Rethy was pregnant during the first year of her internal medicine residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She gave birth during her second year. She worked through her 40th week of pregnancy so she could save her time off and spend more time with her newborn. Now she’s back at work and needs child care. A lot of child care. Medical residents often work long and irregular hours, sometimes as many…
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‘The People’s Hospital’ doctor treats Houston’s uninsured and undocumented : Shots
Paramedics at Ben Taub General Hospital speed a patient with a gunshot wound to the trauma team for further care. Ben Taub is the largest safety-net hospital in Houston. Gregory Smith/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Gregory Smith/Corbis via Getty Images Paramedics at Ben Taub General Hospital speed a patient with a gunshot wound to the trauma team for further care. Ben Taub is the largest safety-net hospital in Houston. Gregory Smith/Corbis via Getty Images As a doctor in a so-called “safety-net” hospital, Ricardo Nuila’s daily practice looks quite different from that of his colleagues who work in private or not-for-profit hospitals. That’s because safety-net hospitals treat everyone…
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Why Medicare politics are heating up : Shots
Prescription drug coverage is just one particular portion of Medicare, the federal government’s health and fitness insurance policies software for folks age 65 and in excess of. d3indicator/Getty Pictures hide caption toggle caption d3signal/Getty Pictures Prescription drug coverage is just one particular section of Medicare, the federal government’s wellbeing insurance coverage application for persons age 65 and over. d3sign/Getty Illustrations or photos The White Dwelling produced President Biden’s $6.8 trillion proposed budget very last week, listing his priorities for the approaching fiscal year. Among other things, Biden singled out Medicare — the federal wellness insurance program for people aged 65 or more mature. Republican leaders insist they is not going…