Study of Philly neighborhoods finds big disparities in health-care access by race, By Don Sapatkin, August 9, 2016, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Philadelphia has plenty of primary-care providers overall, but there is far less access to care in communities with the highest concentrations of African American residents, according to a new study. While the general findings were not a surprise – highly segregated black (and, to a lesser extent, Hispanic) areas were known to have fewer medical practitioners – the difference was bigger than the researchers had expected…”
Obamacare is helping more poor patients get to the doctor even as political battles continue, By Noam N. Levey, August 8, 2016, Los Angeles Times: “Even as the Affordable Care Act remains a political flash point, new research shows it is dramatically improving poor patients’ access to medical care in states that have used the law to expand their Medicaid safety net. After just two years of expanded coverage, patients in expansion states are going to the doctor more frequently and having less trouble paying for it. At the same time, the experience in those states suggests better access will ultimately improve patients’ health, as patients get more regular checkups and seek care for chronic illnesses such diabetes and heart disease…”
Obamacare appears to be making people healthier, By Margot Sanger-Katz, August 9, 2016, New York Times: “Obamacare has provided health insurance to some 20 million people. But are they any better off? This has been the central question as we’ve been watching the complex and expensive health law unfurl. We knew the law was giving people coverage, but information about whether it’s protecting people from debt or helping them become more healthy has been slower to emerge…”
A troubling portrait of Brooklyn’s overall health is released, By Jonathan LaMantia, October 15, 2015, Crain’s New York Business: “The city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Wednesday released the first of its Community Health Profiles, breaking down demographics, poverty and prevention statistics in 18 community districts in Brooklyn. Some of the health care statistics reported included the rates of smoking, obesity and diabetes; the number of uninsured adults and adults who went without needed medical care; rates of vaccinations for diseases such as human papillomavirus (HPV) and the flu; and rates of premature death and infant mortality…”
In NYC, new health data zoom in on disparities among areas, By Jennifer Peltz (AP), October 14, 2015, Miami Herald: “In Brooklyn’s impoverished Brownsville neighborhood, the average person can expect to live to 74. Six miles away in lower Manhattan’s financial district, life expectancy is more than 11 years longer. The nation’s biggest city is taking close-up snapshots of the state of health in its neighborhoods, highlighting disparities that officials say show being healthy isn’t just about individual biology…”
