Health Professionals Urge Lawmakers To Expand Medicaid / Public Information Service

RIVERTON, Wyoming. – Wyoming health professionals urge state lawmakers to act before it’s too late to take advantage of a pandemic-related financial incentive to expand Medicaid coverage.

The US bailout would bring an additional $ 54 million into state coffers, to finance expansion but also to invest in priorities such as education and infrastructure.

Jan Cartwright, executive director of the Wyoming Primary Care Association, said that in addition to giving 24,000 people access to health insurance, the move would bring some relief to the state budget.

“When you have more people in the health insurance pool, everyone is healthier,” Cartwright said. “I think it’s a Wyoming value that we’re seeing more people having access to health care, which really increases productivity, it increases the ability of families to thrive.”

A recent bill sponsored by the Joint Revenue Committee would give Governor Mark Gordon permission to discuss expansion options with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Opponents have long argued that Wyoming does not need federal help to care for its residents, and have warned the state would face additional costs if the Affordable Care Act were ever dismantled.

Cartwright noted that about 70% of people who would qualify for expanded coverage already have at least one job, but work in industries that do not provide health benefits. She highlighted data showing that the expansion would also improve health outcomes for mothers and infants.

“About half of new hires, if we were to expand Medicaid, are working women under 35,” Cartwright said. “And right now, our state has one of the highest uninsured rates in the country for women of childbearing age.”

Supporters also say hospitals, often the largest employers in rural areas, would benefit from the expansion because they wouldn’t be stuck with millions of dollars in unmatched care costs when patients without coverage can’t pay. their bills.

Cartwright added that insured people are also more likely to seek preventive care, which would mean less expensive trips to emergency rooms.

“We know that emergencies are the most expensive way to get health care, and a lot of people who don’t have health insurance end up in the emergency room,” Cartwright observed. “The expansion of Medicaid would really support the entire health care system.”

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DENVER – Sunday marked the start of National Health Centers Week, an opportunity to highlight the important contributions made by hospitals and safety clinics in Colorado and across the country that serve all residents regardless of their status. ability to pay.

Polly Anderson, vice president of funding and strategy for the Colorado Community Health Network, said last year found centers scrambling to address the multiple challenges posed by COVID.

She said the Colorado centers have shown tremendous adaptability in continuing to care for patients.

“And real-time innovation to adapt technology,” Anderson said, “to change their staffing practices, to focus on access and patient safety, and to develop new community partnerships amidst many upheavals and changes during the pandemic. “

The switch to telehealth – which involved overcoming significant technical and procedural challenges – allowed patients to access care safely, while protecting staff.

Anderson said all of this work now means more of the state’s residents will be able to access healthcare, especially patients in rural areas and those without smartphones or high-speed internet. .

But she warned that some of the telehealth services implemented during the pandemic were likely to expire soon, unless federal policymakers act.

For patients unable to reach clinics, one center was able to provide primary and behavioral health care to people living outside and in shelters by expanding their street medicine programs.

“And equipped nurses,” Anderson said, “who know the people, who know people who live on the streets – and have sent them with a backpack that includes technology to connect them in real time to a provider.”

Anderson said it was easy to highlight the technological innovations made during COVID, but she noted that it was the staff who truly rose to the occasion. Everyone contributed where they could, whether it was helping set up makeshift outdoor testing and treatment tents, or going to find the curbside pharmacy.

“It was the people behind this who made these rapid innovations possible and allowed health centers to maintain access,” Anderson said. “This kind of quick thinking and redeployment has allowed many people to continue working in communities across our state.”

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansans is well aware that the state is experiencing one of the worst outbreaks of the delta COVID variant in the country – but it is also seeing a sharp increase in vaccinations.

The Arkansas Department of Health reported nearly 2,800 new cases of COVID on Friday – but also more than 11,000 doses of the vaccine administered, at least double the previous month.

Dr Creshelle Nash, medical director of health equity and public programs for the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, said it was important to keep trying to get as many people vaccinated as possible to avoid an increase more important.

“I think there are mainly two groups of people we can reach in Arkansas, which the data tells us,” Nash said, “those who wait and see” and continue to educate about possible side effects . There are people who are still very concerned about this, and rightly so. But we have to give people credible information, and we will continue to do so. “

Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield are leading an educational initiative, called “Vaccinate the Natural State,” to protect more Arkansans from COVID-19. The state says more than 42% of residents over 12 are now fully immunized.

Beatriz Mondragon, grants coordinator and program manager for the Arkansas Minority Health Commission, said they have also seen demand for vaccines start to rise again at their community clinics across the state.

She said they have focused on hosting clinics in places like churches and food banks, to better serve hard-to-reach communities.

“It’s important at this point to target the whole state and be able to bring these resources to rural communities,” Mondragon said. “Because they have these barriers, transportation, not a lot of resources available there, health resources available there. So we want to meet people where they are.”

Arkansas Minority Health is running an immunization clinic today from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Mission Outreach of Northeast Arkansas in Greene County. Other vaccine sites are online at ‘armorityhealth.com’.

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CONCORD, NH – The pandemic has exposed the benefits of telemedicine, but advocates fear some New Hampshire residents may not be able to access it in the long term.

New Hampshire law requires insurance companies to pay the same rates for telehealth services as for in-person care, but this does not apply to people who work for companies that offer self-health plans. insured.

Richard Cantz, chairman and CEO of Goodwill Northern New England, which offers self-insurance plans but chooses to reimburse telehealth services at the same rates, said it also increases access for people with difficulties to see their doctor, especially in rural areas.

“Assuming everyone has access to just get in a car or access public transportation to attend a date in person, just isn’t realistic,” Cantz argued. “It was not realistic before the pandemic, it is certainly not realistic now.”

He added that people also might not have time to take time off work. Some states, like neighboring Maine and Vermont, don’t have the same statutes requiring payback parity, but advocates have pointed out there is still room to grow, in New Hampshire and at the federal level. .

Lynn Stanley, acting executive director of the Maine chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, explained that when a company offers self-insured health plans, the employer sets the rules.

She worried when companies didn’t make the same decision as Goodwill, healthcare providers, including for mental health services, might not be able to offer telehealth visits.

“We encourage businesses, organizations, and agencies that have self-insurance plans to review their plans and ensure telehealth is reimbursed at the same rate as in-person visits,” noted Stanley.

She added that many people came to rely on telehealth during the pandemic and would take advantage of it being a permanent option. It has been particularly useful for people who faced a lack of child care, transportation or other limiting factors.

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