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Report: Health disparities are set to widen, again
A new report from The Commonwealth Fund delivers a clear message: the U.S. health system is backsliding. After a brief period of improvement in access to care and fewer racial and ethnic health disparities in every state, the environment under current state and federal health policies is likely to make those disparities worse, the report…
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How high-deductible health plans can harm patients’ health
High-deductible health plans are increasingly common — and research shows they may lead patients to delay or skip needed care. The percentage of Americans under age 65 enrolled in high-deductible health plans ranges from about 42%, according to CDC data, to as high as 58%, according to a study published last year in JAMA Network…
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Reporting on the health impacts of bathroom policies for transgender people
A new law in Idaho imposing strict limits on bathroom use for transgender people is the latest development as more states consider and pass similar measures. While much of the coverage has focused on legal and political implications, there is a substantial and growing body of health research that can deepen and sharpen reporting on…
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High deductibles, higher stakes: Story angles for journalists
When compared with the medical care patients get in other high-income nations, the U.S. health system often ranks last in access, affordability and outcomes, as we explained here. One reason for that low rank among those 10 nations is that health care is unaffordable for many Americans, according to a 2024 Commonwealth Fund report. Unlike…
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Why HIV funding cuts would impact every community
It’s easy to forget that the COVID-19 pandemic was not the first major, devastating pandemic that millions of Americans have experienced in their lifetime. Before COVID-19, there was AIDS, which has killed an estimated 500,000 people in the U.S. and 39 million globally, according to the CDC. But along with being a major, continuing public…
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ACIP meeting countdown: COVID vaccine and what else is at stake
This webinar, co-hosted by the Expert Vaccine Analysis Team and the Association of Health Care Journalists, was scheduled to provide independent, evidence-based discussion of topics expected to come up during a scheduled CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) vaccine panel meeting from March 18-19. However, on March 16, a federal judge temporarily stayed multiple decisions made by HHS…
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Federal judge halts HHS, ACIP vaccine decisions: What to know
There has been a whirlwind of activity surrounding federal vaccine policy over the past few weeks and especially the past two days. The most important and impactful recent update is the decision from a federal judge Monday that temporarily stayed multiple decisions made by HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on…
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