A new federal program will allow states to apply for block grants or per capita caps in exchange for new flexibility to limit Medicaid enrollment and benefits. But it could place states at risk for increased costs from recession and spikes in spending brought by the pandemic.
With increased unemployment from the COVID-19 crisis, many will also lose their health insurance. Good policy can limit this, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid expansions already have.
Leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, rural hospitals faced serious challenges, including serving higher-risk populations, facing risk of closure, and struggling with medical equipment shortages. Targeted policies could help rural hospitals better respond to the pandemic.
Findings from the second round of a study examining access to opioid use disorder treatment in New Jersey reveal treatment availability and patient wait times by county and a modest increase in access to pharmacotherapy.
A new study helps us understand food service workers’ vital contributions to the US economy, demographic characteristics, dire economic circumstances, and limited access to health care during the pandemic.
Compared with Medicaid enrollees, people obtaining insurance through the ACA Marketplaces receive significantly less care in hospital emergency rooms and inpatient settings and have higher total spending in key areas.
Improving access to out-of-hospital birth options could help keep pregnant women and their newborns healthy and safe and relieve some strain on the health care system during the coronavirus pandemic. It could also pave the way to more permanent policy changes.
Correctional facilities are ripe for rapid transmission of the coronavirus, putting residents, corrections staff, and the broader community at risk. Host Justin Milner talks with experts in medicine, human rights, and public policy about coronavirus risk in prisons and jails.
