Nearly half of 2010 US births were covered by Medicaid, and nearly half of US pregnancies are unplanned. Women’s health prior to conception influences the health of their babies, but it’s been hard for non-pregnant low-income women to qualify for Medicaid in most states. The Medicaid expansion will help more low-income women access healthcare before they become pregnant and can improve the health of their babies in coming years.
The Department of Labor has finalized a rule extending minimum-wage and overtime protections to home care workers.
Environmental Health
Labor Day review of significant efforts by states and localities to address (or not) workers’ rights and safety protections
Section 3 of the second annual report on US worker health and safety offers a review of activities at the State and local scene, as well as reports from non-profits and investigations by journalists.
How do Edward Snowden and his revelations impinge on public health and its practice, in the US and around the world? In their Editorial, “Least Untruthful, a new standard?” the Co-Editors of the Journal of Public Health Policy have spelled out some important implications for public health.
Affordable Care Act
What happens to the poorest residents in states declining the Medicaid expansion?
What will Obamacare mean for people living below the poverty level? It depends on whether their states have accepted the Medicaid expansion and agreed to run their own exchanges.
Affordable Care Act
Research on immigrant health care spending makes case for widening insurance options
With immigration at the forefront of national debate, Jim Stimpson decided it was time to do a little more digging.
A refund check from my health insurance provider is another sign that Obamacare is working for healthcare consumers.
Education
Sequestration claims another public health program: The Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance program
When I asked Teresa Schnorr why we should be worried about the loss of a little-known occupational health data gathering program, she quoted a popular saying in the field of surveillance: “What gets counted, gets done.”
Environmental Health
Study: Industrial food-animal workers test positive for livestock-associated MRSA
In a recent study comparing workers at industrial livestock operations and those employed at antibiotic-free livestock operations, researchers found that industrial workers were much more likely to carry livestock-associated strains of drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly and scarily known as MRSA.
The Supreme Court’s “let the states decide” approach to marriage equality is similar to its stance on the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. How many of the states that have marriage equality are also expanding Medicaid?