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Section: Health

Health Official Says Disparities Demand Attention

In Washington, D.C., Howard Koh, MD, was known simply as “the ASH,” an acronym for his full title, assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But for a physician who had devoted his career to battling tobacco use, to suddenly be known as the ASH — even though the title […]

May 2, 2018

Navajo Say the Trump Shift on Healthcare Violates Treaties

The Trump administration says Native Americans might need to get a job to keep their health care. But Navajo leaders say that policy defies their 150-year-old treaty rights. Three states have introduced a rule — and several more plan to — that says a person has to work or to be in school to receive […]

May 2, 2018

Study: Gap in Early Death Rates Narrows for Blacks

Racial disparities when it comes to early deaths are narrowing in the U.S., according to a study published in PLOS ONE on Wednesday. Researchers credited reductions in years of life lost among black adults for the narrowing gap, in particular pointing to declining heart disease, HIV and cancer death rates—particularly among black adults in their 30s […]

May 2, 2018

Early Death Rates

Incidence of Autism Rises, but Shows Signs of Leveling Off

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that while rates of autism in children in the United States continue to rise, some signs suggest things may be leveling off. The new statistical findings, from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, reflect data from more than 10,886 children. The results […]

May 2, 2018

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The Big Idea

The American health care system is an expensive, sprawling mess. The Republican Party’s brightest idea for how to fix it? Make health insurance worse. Here’s what the GOP has in mind: Weakened protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Skimpier benefits that leave out coverage for important medical needs. Less protection from financial harm due to illness. […]

April 30, 2018

President Donald Trump

Black in Medicine: The Importance of Representation

In 2016, I went to the emergency room due to my allergies and was told after an X-ray that I would be placed on isolation because of a mass visualized in one of my lungs and because I had taken a trip to Nigeria the previous summer. I had no symptoms, though, so both the […]

April 30, 2018

Blacks in Medicine

Latinos with M.S. Struggle with Depression

A new study has found that half of Latino patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) also suffer from depression. In analysis presented at the 70th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in Los Angeles, CA, researchers from Mount Sinai Beth Israel reported that depression is more prevalent in minorities with MS and low-income backgrounds. […]

April 30, 2018

Transgender Mental Illness

Minority Health Disparities Affect Access, Management

Minority health disparities continue to impact several quality metrics, including care access, provider communication, chronic disease management, and mental health treatment, according to a new CMS report. CMS stated that in order to address care disparities, it is necessary to understand where these gaps exist. “Assessing equitability in the delivery of care requires making comparisons of […]

April 30, 2018

Groups Blast Plan for Short-Term Insurance

Democrats and healthcare groups are attacking the Trump administration’s latest healthcare plan as an attempt to undermine the core protections of Obamacare and increase costs for sicker Americans. The Trump administration’s new plan would expand the use of short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans for people who have a lapse in coverage. Currently, if a person […]

April 30, 2018

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Black Mamas Matter Highlights Disparities

Black mothers die of issues related to pregnancy or birth at more than three and a half times the rate of white women in New Jersey. The reasons go beyond the usual barriers to healthcare, insurance, or economic support, and also involve the physical stress of experiencing racism on a daily basis. That was the […]

April 30, 2018

Black Mamas Matter

Senators Say Trump Censored LGBT Health Sites

Democratic Senators called out the White House for removing LGBT health information from government websites, including from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Women’s Health in a letter sent April 12. “You have repeatedly broken your campaign promises to support and protect the LGBT community, and this latest assault could compromise the health […]

April 30, 2018

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Researchers Seek Marker for Diseases in Diverse Populations

In the emerging world of personalized medicine, researchers are furiously looking for disease markers specific to minority populations, and they have already made some promising discoveries. The clues they are gathering, the scientists said, could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases, such as asthma and heart disease, that disproportionately affect minorities, as […]

April 30, 2018

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Report: Harvard Med School Gets a B- for Diversity

White Coats for Black Lives, a group that advocates for racial equality in medicine, gave Harvard Medical School a B- in its first-ever “racial justice” report card, released Wednesday. The report card is meant to evaluate how well medical schools around the country—including Harvard’s—foster racial equality. In rationalizing Harvard’s grade, the organization pointed to minority […]

April 30, 2018

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Keep Fighting

The Trump Administration has found yet another way to undermine the Affordable Care Act and the individual health insurance market. Lucky for Washington consumers, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has their backs. Kreidler is protecting consumers against the Trump Administration’s ill-conceived attempt to allow Americans to sidestep the requirements of the ACA and sign up for […]

April 25, 2018

Health Insurance

New Alzheimer’s Research Could Lead to Earlier Diagnosis

A new definition of Alzheimer’s disease could help more people be diagnosed earlier. Doctors have proposed basing the diagnosis on signs such as brain changes, rather than symptoms such as memory loss. Currently, health care providers test for the disease indirectly by looking at a person’s medical history and running basic lab work and scans. Recently published […]

April 25, 2018

Nurses of Color Organization Focuses on Care

Susan Hames, a Sister of St. Joseph of Corondelet (CSJ), claimed that “My work is loving the world.” The CSJ ideology is the foundation of what makes up the St. Catherine University nursing program. Selflessness, love, and leadership are the qualities that we produce in our nurses. This is even more the case with St. […]

April 25, 2018

Nurses of Color

Conference Will Address Black Disparities

Improving health outcomes in the African American Community, that’s the goal of a first-of-its-kind conference next Saturday at U-B’s Medical School. The goal is to find solutions for some of the issues affecting our health, including housing, education, and employment. Experts from all over the country will be in town to start drafting community solutions […]

April 25, 2018

Black Moms, Black Babies at High Risk

From grassroots organizations working directly with moms to large insurers, health advocates remain increasingly concerned that black mothers and babies continue to die at higher rates than white mothers and babies. “We know black moms and black babies die more often than other folks,” said Toni Hill, founding director of the Northeast Mississippi Birthing Project, […]

April 25, 2018

Black Moms Babies