Understanding Racial and Ethnic Identity in Federal Data and Impacts for Health Disparities

How race, ethnicity, and nationality have been defined and measured has important implications for health disparities, affecting who can access health, social, and economic resources. While narrow and inconsistent race and ethnicity categories have obscured inequities and limited the ability to address the diverse needs of different populations, data on race and ethnicity have also…

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Across North Carolina, Medical Debt Exacts a Heavy Toll

On March 30, 2019, a swerving car upended Tom Burke’s life. Severely injured after the crash, Burke was airlifted from the Fort Liberty U.S. Army base in North Carolina to UNC Medical Center, in Chapel Hill, where doctors performed surgeries to rebuild his leg. Medicaid covered most of the cost, but Burke was still left…

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AI Can Help Better Manage Polypharmacy Patients, Study Shows

New research was published this week analyzing how AI can be used to better manage medications for senior patients who use multiple medications simultaneously. It analyzed FeelBetter’s AI platform, which pinpoints patients at high risk of deterioration and preventable hospitalization due to suboptimal medication management. The post AI Can Help Better Manage Polypharmacy Patients, Study…

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Medicaid Coverage of and Spending on GLP-1s

This brief examines the implications of rising prescriptions for costly GLP-1 drugs for state Medicaid programs as more states consider covering the drugs for weight loss. It examines recent trends in Medicaid prescriptions and gross spending on GLP-1s, and explores the potential implications of expanding coverage obesity drugs for Medicaid programs.

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