Clip files / Local news from the states
Clip files / Local news from the states
This column features selected short items about state health care policy.
Michigan women rank low for good health practices
LANSING, MI — Michigan's 5.1 million women aren't taking care of themselves as well as they should. The state was ranked in the worst one-third nationwide for the number of deaths due to heart disease, lung cancer, and breast cancer among Michigan women, according to the results of a recent study done by the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington, DC.
"Women tend to look at the guidelines for men and make sure the men are taken care of, but they have to consider themselves first," said Maureen Sheppard, director of Healthwise University at Ingham Regional Medical Center.
The study assigned Michigan women a grade of D+ for health and well-being and D- for reproductive rights.
— Lansing State Journal, 11/18/04
University of South Alabama receives disparities grant
MOBILE, AL — The University of South Alabama's Center for Healthy Communities has received a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to address health care disparities in minority and underserved populations in the area.
Programs to be funded include a church-based exercise project, home-monitoring of certain medical conditions for inner-city residents, and a summer enrichment program for minority high school students to help them become competitive applicants for careers in biomedical sciences, according to Dr. Martha Arrieta, associate director of the Center for Healthy Communities.
The three-year grant is from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities' Project EXPORT, whose awards "support the development of resources and infrastructure … as a prelude to initiating full-scale health disparities research, community outreach and training aimed at eliminating health disparities." What that means, according to Arrieta, is that institutions receiving the grants can test health interventions and programs, and the results become public knowledge and can be duplicated.
— Mobile Register, 11/18/04
Study shows increase in uninsured workers
TALLAHASSEE, FL — The percentage of working people without health insurance in Florida increased over the past five years, mostly because they couldn't afford rising premiums, a new state study has found. Nearly 20% of the state's working-age population is without health insurance, compared to about 17% five years ago, according to a study by the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
Of those, more than half went without insurance for a year or more, and 63% blamed unaffordable premiums. State officials point to one bright spot: The number of low-income Floridians with insurance increased, primarily because of state-subsidized programs such as Healthy Kids.
The study was intended to provide lawmakers with information as they move to overhaul Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for the poor, and search for ways to make health insurance more affordable.
— St. Petersburg Times, 11/18/04
This column features selected short items about state health care policy.Subscribe Now for Access
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