br00t4c
(@)br00t4c(@)mastodon.social

STAT+: Trump to end federal funding of certain non-medical services in Medicaid
#TrumpAdministration #HousingNutritionSupport #FederalFundingCut #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth #NonMedicalServices
https://www.statnews.com/2025/04/11/trump-ends-federal-funding-some-non-medical-services-in-medicaid/?utm_campaign=rss

STAT · Trump to end federal funding of certain non-medical services in Medicaid
The services are often aimed at improving housing and nutrition for people in the Medicaid program.

https://mastodon.social/@br00t4c/114321462695005356

Covid is no worse than the flu?

I know, I have now led dozens of posts over the past few years with this sarcastic question. But now, with the pandemic officially declared over by the politicians and the majority of the public behaving as though Covid19 is no longer a threat, it seems particularly apropos in light of the reasons for declaring the pandemic over: to get people back to work and back to consuming. Yet, as the data from this study show, Long Covid has had an enormous negative impact on the income and quality of life for millions of Americans, particularly the poor and working class, and particularly for African Americans and women.

*Nearly 1 in 7 working-age adults in the U.S. had experienced Long Covid by the end of 2023
*Socially disadvantaged adults were 152% more likely to suffer from Long Covid
*Groups with higher risk for Long Covid include being Black, LGBTQ, Hispanic, Female, or low income
*In 2022, people with Long Covid lost $211 billion in wages
*In 2023, people with Long Covid lost $218 billion in wages

One reason for the disproportionate effect of Long Covid on marginalized communities, particularly BIPOC and poor people, is that these groups suffer disproportionately from chronically elevated levels of the stress hormone, Cortisol, due to the stress caused by racism, sexism, homophobia, and poverty. Elevated Cortisol levels are also associated with increased risk of heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes, as well as impaired immune function.

For a really good documentary on the Social Determinants of Health and the relationship between racism and poverty on stress/cortisol levels and negative health outcomes, please see the Unnatural Causes video series

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/studies-1-7-us-working-age-adults-report-long-covid-heaviest-burden-poor

#covid #COVID19 #longcovid #publichealth #pandemic #wages #workingclass #racism #poverty #socialdeterminantsofhealth #lgbtq #sexism #homophobia #cortisol #BlackMastadon

Going back to my previous post on the end of the USA's Affordable Connectivity Program: It's urgent that clinicians, researchers, public health authorities and politicians come to an understanding that #InternetAccess is a #SuperDeterminantOfHealth. It affects all other #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth - wellness, health care access, employment, education, and community involvment. This has been widely published since 2016. We're going backwards.

Look at this map: (source: https://countyhealthrankings.org/reports/digital-redlining)

Something for the Americans:

Class-action lawsuit linking hair straightening chemicals with ovarian and uterine ailments.

Please share widely.

https://joinclassactions.com/class_actions/hair-straightener-chemicals/

Another reason why not letting Black people wear natural hair styles is deeply, DEEPLY problematic.

White people think racism is about hurt feelings, when it's really about HEALTH and LONGEVITY.

And I say this as someone who straightens her hair 3x a year, so absolutely know the response I get during that fourth month when my hair is getting pretty "out of control".

#BlackWomen #NaturalHair #BlackHair #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth

Laws that prevent discrimination related to sexual orientation can play an important role in improving maternal health among White women in general and Black lesbian and bisexual women in particular.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36399611

#WomensHealth #MaternalHealth #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Health #HealthEquity #SDoH #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth
@demography @sociology

For transgender women of color legal gender affirmation–changing one's name and gender marker on official documents–can lessen economic vulnerability and overrepresentation in the criminal justice system by improving access to employment, housing, education, health care, and social services.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36037008

#LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Trans #Transgender #Health #MentalHealth #HealthEquity #SDoH #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth
@demography
@sociology
@criminology

Children on Medi-Cal, California’s insurance program for its poorest residents, might wait months for urgent psychiatric care, according to an audit released in December.

Learn more in this story from CapRadio. https://bit.ly/48crGsB

#Health #MentalHealth #Medicaid #MediCal #MentalHealthCare #MedMastodon #PublicHealth #PublicPolicy #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth #SDoH