Renuka Rayasam

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rrayasam@kff.org

The Public Health Consequences of Public Housing Failures

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Every year more than 10,000 taxpayer-supported public housing units are lost to disrepair. But federal lawmakers routinely ignore the full amount, around $115 billion, needed to keep the units in 鈥渄ecent, safe and sanitary鈥 condition. One-time funds for public housing repairs were cut from the final version of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to appeal […]

鈥榃hat Happens Three Months From Now?鈥 Mental Health After Georgia High School Shooting

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The recent shooting at Apalachee High School outside of Atlanta caused more than physical wounds. Medical experts worry a lack of mental health resources in the community 鈥 and in Georgia as a whole 鈥 means few options for those trying to cope with trauma from the shooting.

The First Year of Georgia鈥檚 Medicaid Work Requirement Is Mired in Red Tape

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Georgia must decide soon whether to try to extend a limited Medicaid expansion that requires participants to work. Enrollment fell far short of goals in the first year, and the state isn鈥檛 yet able to verify participants are working.

A Teen鈥檚 Murder, Mold in the Walls: Unfulfilled Promises Haunt Public Housing

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For years, federal lawmakers have failed to deliver the money needed to fix derelict public housing, leaving tenants 鈥 mostly people of color and families with low incomes 鈥 living with mold and gun violence that has had lasting health consequences.

Weight-Loss Drugs Are So Popular They鈥檙e Headed for Medicare Negotiations

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The steep prices 鈥 and popularity 鈥 of Ozempic and similar weight-loss and diabetes drugs could soon make them a priority for Medicare drug price negotiations. List prices for a month鈥檚 supply of the drugs range from $936 to $1,349, according to the Peterson-麻豆女优 Health System Tracker. The Inflation Reduction Act President Biden signed in […]

High Price of Popular Diabetes Drugs Deprives Low-Income People of Effective Treatment

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The makers of Ozempic and Mounjaro charge list prices of around $1,000 a month for the diabetes and obesity drugs, and insurers are reluctant to pick up the tab. Often, low-income patients have to resort to less effective treatments.

Personas de bajos ingresos no pueden recibir terapias efectivas contra la diabetes por el alto costo

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La escasez de suministros y las barreras que ponen las aseguradoras para obtener esta poderosa clase de medicamentos, llamados agonistas de GLP-1, han dejado a muchas personas que viven con diabetes y obesidad sin los medicamentos que necesitan para mantenerse saludables.

The GOP Keeps Pushing Medicaid Work Requirements, Despite Setbacks

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Work requirements in Medicaid expansion programs are back on the agenda in many statehouses 鈥 despite their lackluster track record. In Mississippi, the idea has momentum from GOP lawmakers advancing legislation to expand Medicaid. In Kansas, the Democratic governor proposed work requirements to try to soften Republican opposition to expansion. (She鈥檚 had little luck, so […]

Georgia鈥檚 Medicaid Work Requirements Costing Taxpayers Millions Despite Low Enrollment

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Republican Gov. Brian Kemp鈥檚 Georgia Pathways to Coverage program has seen anemic enrollment while chalking up millions in start-up costs 鈥 largely in technology and consulting fees. Critics say the money鈥檚 being wasted on a costly and ineffective alternative to Obamacare鈥檚 Medicaid expansion.

A medida que m谩s estados desautorizan el diagn贸stico de 鈥渄elirio excitado鈥, grupos policiales retroceden

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La nueva ola de propuestas estatales, impulsada por familias que perdieron familiares despu茅s de enfrentamientos con la polic铆a, marca un paso importante para desterrar un t茅rmino que los cr铆ticos dicen que incita a la polic铆a a usar fuerza letal en exceso.

As More States Target Disavowed 鈥楨xcited Delirium鈥 Diagnosis, Police Groups Push Back

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After California passed the first law in the nation to limit the disavowed term 鈥渆xcited delirium,鈥 bills in other states are being introduced to help end use of the diagnosis. But momentum is being met with resistance from law enforcement and first responder groups, who cite free speech.

Pregnancy Care Was Always Lacking in Jails. It Could Get Worse.

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A lack of oversight and standards for pregnancy care in jails is becoming more problematic as the number of incarcerated women rises and abortion restrictions put medical care further out of reach.

As Foundation for 鈥楨xcited Delirium鈥 Diagnosis Cracks, Fallout Spreads

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Major policy changes and disavowals have made this a watershed year for curbing the use of the discredited 鈥渆xcited delirium鈥 diagnosis to explain deaths in police custody. Now the ripple effects are spreading across the country into court cases, state legislation, and police training classes.

Most States Ban Shackling Pregnant Women in Custody, Yet Many Report Being Restrained

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Advocates for pregnant people in police custody say repeated incidents show prohibitions on handcuffs and other restraints are little more than lip service.

Residents of a Rural Arkansas County Grapple With Endemic Gun Violence

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Rural gun homicides have often been overshadowed by violence in cities. But they are taking their toll on small communities ill-equipped to deal with the challenges.

Doctors Abandon a Diagnosis Used to Justify Police Custody Deaths. It Might Live On, Anyway.

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The American College of Emergency Physicians agreed to withdraw its 2009 white paper on excited delirium, removing the only official medical pillar of support left for the theory that has played a key role in absolving police of culpability for in-custody deaths.

Police Blame Some Deaths on 鈥楨xcited Delirium.鈥 ER Docs Consider Pulling the Plug on the Term.

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The American College of Emergency Physicians will vote in early October on whether to disavow its 2009 research paper on excited delirium, which has been cited as a cause of death and used as a legal defense by police officers in several high-profile cases.

Parents See Own Health Spiral as Their Kids鈥 Mental Illnesses Worsen

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The day-to-day struggles that parents of kids with mental health conditions must navigate have led to their own crisis: The stress can take a physical toll that disrupts parents鈥 ability to provide care, say psychologists, researchers, and advocates for families.

The Painful Legacy of 鈥楲aw and Order鈥 Treatment of Addiction in Jail

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Efforts to improve addiction care in jails and prisons are underway across the country. But a rural Alabama county with one of the nation鈥檚 highest overdose rates shows how change is slow, while law enforcement officials continue to treat addiction as a crime rather than a medical condition.