SUMMARY: La promesa de deportaciones masivas y restricción migratoria por parte del presidente electo Donald Trump genera desconfianza en el sistema de salud entre los inmigrantes en California. Pese a ello, algunos inmigrantes en el sur del estado mantienen esperanza de mejoras económicas. El miedo a la deportación afecta la participación en Medi-Cal, el programa de Medicaid estatal, complicando los esfuerzos para reducir la tasa de personas sin seguro. Activistas temen que los nuevos recortes en Medicaid y cambios en políticas de carga pública puedan perjudicar a los inmigrantes elegibles, generando más incertidumbre en el acceso a la atención médica.

Read the full article

The post Inmigrantes temen por su salud bajo Trump, pero tienen esperanzas en la economía appeared first on kffhealthnews.org

SUMMARY: A database created in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Shatterproof details the use of opioid settlement funds by state and local governments in 2022 and 2023. Users can search by county or keyword to see how funds were allocated, such as purchasing Narcan or supporting local services. The database includes over 7,000 entries and allows users to access original reports. As settlement funds will continue for over a decade, individuals are encouraged to engage with local officials and organizations to influence spending decisions and seek support for addiction-related services. More information is available at kffhealthnews.org.

In the past few years, state and local governments across the U.S. have begun spending billions in opioid settlements paid by companies accused of fueling the overdose crisis. But where is that money going, who is getting it, and is it doing any good?

KFF Health News, partnering with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Shatterproof, a national nonprofit focused on addiction, undertook a yearlong investigation to find out. We built a database of answers, which you can find here: https://kffhealthnews.org/opioid-settlements/

Source

SUMMARY: Tescha Hawley discovered her son’s hospital bills were sent to debt collectors when checking her credit score, impacting her ability to buy a home. Although she was promised that the Indian Health Service (IHS) would cover the costs through the Purchased/Referred Care program, mismanagement led to wrongful billing, affecting her credit and finances for years. A federal report highlighted systemic billing issues within the IHS, with Native Americans facing a higher likelihood of medical debt in collections. Legislation is proposed to address these issues, but ongoing underfunding and administrative challenges persist, leading many to distrust the system.

Read the full article

The post Native American Patients Are Sent to Collections for Debts the Government Owes appeared first on kffhealthnews.org