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Substance Use Issues Are Worsening Alongside Access to Care
Drug overdose deaths rose during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some of the biggest jumps occurring among people of color. This analysis breaks out drug overdose deaths by race and ethnicity for the first nine months of 2020, to the same period in each of the two prior years. It also looks at access to care issues and recent and pending legislation aimed at addressing the nation’s substance use and mental health challenges.
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Medicaid Authorities and Options to Address Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)
Extensive research and the pandemic have elevated the importance of addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) to improve health and reduce longstanding disparities in health and health care. Social determinants of health include factors like socioeconomic status, education, neighborhood and physical environment, employment, and social support networks, as well as access to health care. This brief describes options and federal Medicaid authorities states may use to address enrollees’ social determinants of health and provides state examples, including initiatives launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of this brief is on state-driven Medicaid efforts to address social determinants for nonelderly enrollees who do not meet functional status or health need criteria for home and community-based services (HCBS) programs.
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Black Medicare Beneficiaries Are More Likely Than White Beneficiaries to Have Cost-Related Problems with Their Health Care, Across both Traditional Medicare and in Medicare Advantage Plans
Among people with Medicare, Black beneficiaries are more likely to have cost-related problems with their health care than White beneficiaries, finds a new KFF analysis, with the racial disparity persisting among beneficiaries in both traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans. While 17 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries, or about 1…
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Cost-Related Problems Are Less Common Among Beneficiaries in Traditional Medicare Than in Medicare Advantage, Mainly Due to Supplemental Coverage
This analysis examines health care cost-related problems among Medicare beneficiaries, comparing beneficiaries in traditional Medicare, including those with and without supplemental coverage, to those in Medicare Advantage, with a focus on racial equity. We compare rates of cost-related problems among White, Black, and Hispanic beneficiaries, those in fair or poor health, and those under age 65 with long-term disabilities. The measure of cost-related problems include problems getting care due to cost, delays seeking care due to cost, and problems paying medical bills among people with Medicare.
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Medication Abortion and Telemedicine: Innovations and Barriers During the COVID-19 Emergency
This post looks at a new contactless method of providing medication abortions and now this can be and has been used in response to the pandemic. The post also examines state policies that act as barriers to implementing these new protocols.
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Are Health Centers Facilitating Equitable Access to COVID-19 Vaccinations? A June 2021 Update.
This analysis updates earlier work and examines the extent to which vaccination efforts through community health centers are reaching people of color using data from the federal government’s weekly Health Center COVID-19 Survey. We include data from the survey weeks of January 8 through May 21, 2021, finding that people of color made up the majority of people who received vaccinations at community health centers.
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Mental Health and Substance Use Considerations Among Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This brief explores factors contributing to poor mental health and substance use outcomes among children during the pandemic, highlighting groups of children who are particularly at risk and barriers to accessing child and adolescent mental health care.
Issue Brief Read More The Pandemic’s Impact on Children’s Mental Health
The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the nation’s mental health, and a new issue brief shows that children are also facing worsening emotional and cognitive health. The brief examines factors contributing to worsening mental health and substance use outcomes among children and adolescents during the pandemic, looking closely…
News Release Read More More Than 1 in 4 Medicare Beneficiaries Had a Telehealth Visit Between the Summer and Fall of 2020
As the coronavirus pandemic kept people home last year, just over 1 in 4 Medicare beneficiaries had a telehealth visit with a doctor or other health professional between the summer and fall of 2020, a new KFF analysis finds. Once limited to beneficiaries living in rural areas, coverage of telehealth…
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Medicare and Telehealth: Coverage and Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Options for the Future
This brief provides an overview of changes in coverage of telehealth under traditional Medicare before the coronavirus pandemic, and estimates changes in use of telehealth services using survey data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) during the pandemic. The analysis also discusses issues and questions related to extending telehealth coverage under traditional Medicare beyond the public health emergency.
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