Study on Women’s and Children’s Health Statistics / Public Press Service

AUSTIN, Texas – Access to mental health resources is not always available through insurance plans, but those who receive these services should take advantage of them, urged the United Health Foundation’s 2021 report on the health of women and children.

It’s one of the takeaways from the United Health Foundation’s 2021 “Women’s and Children’s Health Report.” The report is based largely on 2019 federal data leading up to the pandemic and shows that the loss of health insurance for children in Texas has accelerated. This can cause stress for families, according to Assistant Professor Stephanie Peebles Tavera of Texas A&M University in Killeen.

“Lack of access to safe housing, or food resources or water,” Peebles Tavera pointed out. “If you have a food shortage in your community, of course you’re going to put personal stress on your body and of course that’s going to affect your child.”

Teen suicide has increased 41% in Texas since 2014, with about 12 reported deaths per 100,000 teens ages 15-19. In contrast, drug-related deaths among women in Texas were low at 8.5%, compared to 67% for women in West Virginia during the recent Study Period.

Dr. Ravi Johar, chief medical officer at UnitedHealthcare, said recent findings show that mental distress in women aged 18 to 44 was high, with Hispanic women most affected.

“Surprisingly, about one in five women, just over 18% of women in the United States, said that in the past 30 days, 14 of them felt mentally unwell,” Johar reported. “So for more than half the month, one in five women felt unwell.”

Peebles Tavera will publish a book next year, “(P)rescription Narratives: Feminist Medical Fiction and the Failure of American Medicine,” which details the ways American medicine has failed women.

She pointed out that the law effectively banning abortions in Texas and encouraging people to report those seeking them dates back 150 years, to the Comstock Act of 1873, which controlled access to birth control.

“The biggest problem I see is the recreation of a culture of shame around women’s bodies,” Peebles Tavera said. “Not only do you have control of women’s bodies under federal law and lack of access to resources, but you also have citizen policing.”

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Some Medicaid-eligible Arkansans are struggling to apply, according to a new report. Community advocates want administrators and policymakers to find solutions to ensure eligible people can be covered.

The report surveyed nearly 300 Arkansans and found that 41% had difficulty enrolling in Medicaid, with most having trouble applying online.

Neil Sealy, executive director of Arkansas Community Organizations, which helped compile the report, said getting Medicaid coverage can help prevent medical debt, which is a growing problem in the state.

“Medical debt, access to health care, is a big issue for the people of Arkansas,” he said, “and that’s why we hope to have a dialogue with DHS officials, to see if there are ways to make it easier to apply.”

Representatives of community organizations in Arkansas hand-delivered the report Tuesday to the Department of Human Services. A DHS spokesperson said the agency appreciates hearing from people and recently created a Medicaid Client Voice Council to get feedback. More than 900,000 Arkansans are Medicaid or CHIP recipients.

The report also presented policy recommendations, such as staffing call centers with online support representatives, as well as in-person help, to meet demand. Sealy said implementing so-called “presumed eligibility,” which allows people who may be eligible for Medicaid to access services before they are fully enrolled, would help.

“If someone is applying, they’ve been screened for income or they’re participating in another DHS program,” he said, “they should just automatically be considered to have insurance until they can get all his documents”.

Arkansas recently received federal approval to modify its Medicaid system to shorten retroactive eligibility from 90 days to 30 days. Health care advocates have warned that these changes could be a burden on Medicaid enrollees.

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As Connecticut considers legalizing medical assistance in dying for people with terminal illnesses, a new poll finds voters are more likely to support candidates who support this option.

Sixty-six percent of voters in Northeastern states said they would want the option of medical assistance in dying if they were diagnosed with a terminal illness and were of sound mind to make this decision. State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, who co-chairs the public health committee, said it’s a testament to changing public sentiment about physician-assisted dying.

“Clearly the majority of Connecticut citizens understand this and understand its limited applicability,” he said. “None of them probably expect to have the benefit of it, but they want to have the choice.”

In Connecticut, Senate Bill 88 was introduced this month and had a public hearing last week. Opponents have said the laws violate doctors’ obligations to “do no harm” to patients, but about a dozen states have introduced similar legislation this year.

With 68% of Republicans and 70% of Democrats polled in favour, Jim Lee, managing director of Susquehanna Polling and Research, which conducted the survey, said it shows this is not a partisan issue. .

“It was a real personal issue for them, so we didn’t see there was stronger support with one political party or the other,” he said. “The fact that we have a strong consensus on this type of medical issue, I think, says a lot.”

Kim Callinan, chief executive of the Compassion & Choices group, which commissioned the poll, said it also showed strong support across the religious spectrum, including among Catholics.

“While the Catholic hierarchy opposes physician-assisted dying,” she said, “they do not speak for the people sitting in the pews; 66% of Catholics personally want the option of medical assistance in dying is available”.

Washington, DC and 10 states allow medical assistance in dying, including nearby New Jersey and Vermont.

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According to a new poll, more than half of voters across the country are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports medical assistance in dying, and only 6% say they would be less likely to do so.

In Massachusetts, lawmakers have introduced the “End of Life Options Act” since 2012, with some tweaks over the years. It would allow patients who have been diagnosed as terminally ill to voluntarily apply for a prescription to end their lives peacefully. Representative James O’Day, D-West Boylston, one of the main sponsors of this session, said people want control over their lives.

“Why should we, at the end of people’s lives, take that option away from individuals,” he said, “especially people who are in really difficult physical health and are submitting, as well as loved ones, to a really difficult and traumatic experience?”

O’Day noted that opponents of the bill attempt to cast medical assistance in dying as controversial or as a form of suicide. He said he doesn’t agree with that characterization and thinks it’s a way for a sane person to make an informed decision with their family in the context of a terminal diagnosis.

Jim Lee, managing director of Susquehanna Polling and Research, which conducted the survey, said support for medical assistance in dying is visible across parties.

“Poll respondents didn’t see this through a partisan lens; it was a real personal issue for them,” he said. “So much is polarized these days, so the fact that we have a strong consensus on this type of medical issue, I think, says a lot.”

Kim Callinan, president and CEO of Compassion & Choices, added that support has grown even over the past two years.

“As a result of the COVID pandemic, people are facing the inevitability of end of life,” she said, “and they are recognizing that current policies are lacking and are seeking greater autonomy and compassion.

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