Viewpoints: Failure To Expand Medicaid Hurts Tennesseans; How To Tackle Racism In Organ Procurement
Editorial writers delve into these public health topics.
The Tennessean:
Why Does Tennessee Have So Many Uninsured People?
The American public is highly aware that rising health care costs are a major problem for our citizens. In fact, a 2022 poll ranked the issue as the second most important concern of most Americans, right after the economy. However, most Americans are unaware that the U.S. trails every other democracy regarding health care coverage. In fact, that lack of insurance is one major reason why numerous studies have rated our health financing system very poorly versus other developed nations, which generally do not use our employer-based health insurance model. (Jack Bernard, 4/6)
Stat:
The Organ Procurement System Is Failing People Of Color Like Me
I am a Black woman who has been waiting for seven years for a kidney transplant. The organ procurement system has failed me — apparently by design. In December 2021, a federal judge ordered that official policymaking emails from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the government contractor in charge of overseeing the organ donation system, be unsealed. The organization is the subject of an ongoing bipartisan investigation by the Senate Finance Committee. In justifying a new policy that would systemically disadvantage people of color based on where they live, then-UNOS board member Alexandra Glazier wrote: “The fact that some states do better than others in preventing preventable deaths and providing health care insurance coverage and access means you’re a dumb f— for living there.” (LaQuayia Goldring, 4/7)
Stat:
3 Steps ARPA-H Needs To Take To Accomplish Its Mission
Since its formation in the 1950s, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA, has revolutionized the modern world through its model of funding radical innovation. While DARPA initially focused on space and missile defense, the agency is well-known for its role in broad, revolutionary technological innovation. In the last 60 years, it has paved the way for the internet, touch-screen technology, miniaturized GPS devices, and more — as well as Moderna’s mRNA vaccine through the Pandemic Prevention Program, which dates back to 2013. (Travis Whitfill, 4/7)
Stat:
A New Report Offers Solutions For Improving Nursing Home Care
Nursing homes have been at the epicenter of the pandemic, though they have fallen off the radar for those who aren’t living or working in one, or don’t have loved ones in them. About 1.3 million Americans live in the country’s 15,000 nursing homes, where they are cared for by roughly 3 million staff members. As we write this, nearly 170,000 nursing home residents are estimated to have died from Covid-19. Many, many more were isolated from family and friends during the 20-month lockdown. Bed sores, severe weight loss, depression, and mental and functional decline have spiked among nursing home residents. And nurses, certified nurse aides, and others who work in these facilities, putting their own lives at risk, have worked in the most challenging of conditions without adequate pay or support. (David C. Grabowski, Marilyn Rantz and Jasmine L. Travers, 4/6)
