Los centros de salud comunitarios de Colorado, que atienden a todos los pacientes independientemente de su capacidad de pago, llevan ya un mes en su nuevo año fiscal. Pero el Congreso aún no ha aprobado su financiación anual.

Stephanie Einfeld es consejera delegada del Northwest Colorado Health, que atiende a residentes rurales en Craig y Steamboat Springs. Afirma que la alta calidad de la atención médica, conductual, dental y de otro tipo que prestan los centros de salud está en peligro. Necesitan fondos federales para evitar que se reduzcan las horas de funcionamiento y las listas de espera.

"Para continuar haciendo lo que hacemos, necesitamos apoyo federal," asegura Einfeld Y nuestros legisladores necesitan escuchar eso. Necesitan priorizar primero, continuar con nuestra financiación federal y luego aumentarla."

A diferencia de la mayoría de las empresas que se enfrentan a los aumentos de costos laborales y de otro tipo, afirma que los centros de salud públicos no pueden transferir esos gastos a los pacientes. Los centros de salud atienden de forma desproporcionada a pacientes de Medicaid y son especialmente vulnerables al aumento de los costos de atención no compensada tras el fin de la cobertura continua a principios de este año, una medida que dejará sin seguro a 325,000 habitantes de Colorado.

Los centros de salud tienen múltiples fuentes de ingresos, como la facturación a los pacientes y los subsidios.

Pero el Dr. Simon Hambidge, de Denver Health, dice que la financiación federal es importante y que los centros de salud han contado con un fuerte apoyo bipartidista durante más de 60 años. Con frecuencia, los centros de salud son los mayores empleadores de las comunidades a las que atienden, emplean directamente a más de seis mil personas en Colorado y crean un total de más de 11,000 puestos de trabajo indirectos.

"Se calcula que el impacto económico total de las operaciones de los centros de salud en Colorado supera los 1.7 billones," informa Hambidge. "Y los ingresos fiscales que generan los centros de salud en sus comunidades superan los 1.2 billones."

Los centros de salud comunitarios también hacen lo que parece estar fuera del alcance de prácticamente todos los demás aspectos del sistema de atención de salud del país: ahorrar dinero a los contribuyentes. El año pasado, los centros de salud de Colorado ahorraron a los Centros de Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid más de 15 millones de dólares al atender a casi 14 mil pacientes.

"Existe un retorno documentado de la inversión de los centros de salud. Los centros de salud ahorran a Medicaid el 24% de los costos totales por cada paciente de Medicaid que es atendido," concluye Hambidge.



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World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the state.

Released in March, the plan includes major goals and strategies to limit the spread of hepatitis A, B and C over the next six years. It's gotten new attention after 2,400 patients in Oregon hospitals were potentially exposed to hepatitis and HIV earlier this month.

Concerns are high, but epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger, Oregon's state health officer, said people should be aware of the threats of hepatitis, but not anxious.

"In day-to-day times, people should feel safe and confident in going to the doctor," he said. "The risk of exposure to these viruses is extremely low in most cases."

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver, and contagious viruses are among the causes. Sidelinger said he's confident Oregon has the technology and resources to fully eliminate the threat.

While many people may have heard of hepatitis, they may not fully understand how prevalent it is in their communities. According to OHA data, the proportion of chronic hepatitis C cases among people in their 20s tripled between 2010 and 2019.

Sidelinger said there's a good chance most Oregonians know someone who is affected by chronic hepatitis.

"It can seem out of the blue to be talking about hepatitis and [a] hepatitis awareness day, but this is a disease that affects many individuals," he said. "But the good news is, everyone can take steps to protect themselves."

The OHA says you can help prevent the spread of hepatitis by washing hands and fresh produce, staying current on vaccinations, avoiding sharing needles, and getting tested regularly. These tips and more are part of the state's plan to eliminate hepatitis by 2030.


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CoveredCA announced Wednesday that the average premium for plans on the marketplace will rise 7.9% in 2025, but subsidies are expected to blunt the impact and even lower costs for many consumers.

The Biden-Harris administration's Inflation Reduction Act caps premiums at 8.5% of income for many, and goes even further for those with low incomes.

Rachel Linn Gish, director of communications for the nonprofit Health Access California, said the state has put the federal funds to good use.

"Because of this financial help," she said, "California has been able to take even further steps to lower costs for many CoveredCA enrollees by eliminating deductibles and reducing copays for many health services such as doctors' visits, lab work, generic drugs."

However, the enhanced premium subsidies in the IRA will expire next year, sending costs soaring unless Congress extends them. If not, Gish said, she expects premiums to rise 60% to 80%, costing thousands more per year. Opponents of the extension have cited the need to limit federal spending.

Gish said if the federal premium help ends, people could start seeing much higher deductibles.

"Without the federal assistance, California stands to lose $1.7 billion in assistance, which the state can only backfill a fraction of," she said, "which means consumers could again see deductibles of $5,000 or more."

Other big changes are on the way. Starting Nov. 1, about 40,000 income-eligible DACA recipients in California will be able to apply for premium subsidies through Covered California.

Connecticut insurance companies are requesting rate increases. Companies want a more than 8% increase for individuals and an almost 12% increase for small groups. However, insurance costs are already problematic for residents. A 2022 survey shows 46% of people delayed important medical care due to coverage costs.

Liz Dupont-Diehl, associate director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, said unaffordable insurance is all too common.

"It is an unfortunate American right of passage to spend hours a week appealing claims denials, or dealing with rising copays, and surprise costs. Even those of us lucky enough to think we have good coverage are continually surprised by hings that are not covered," she said.

Of the legislative solutions lawmakers can take, polls show voters across party lines support the government setting limits on out-of-pocket medical care costs for people with insurance.

Connecticut's Insurance Department will host an informational meeting for people to share their experiences and hear testimony. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on August 20 at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford and over Zoom.

One way Connecticut's General Assembly can better regulate insurance companies is by increasing transparency surrounding pharmacy benefit managers. A recent Federal Trade Commission report finds the six largest pharmacy benefit managers manage 95% of the country's prescriptions.

Dupont-Diehl said this can help people better understand why certain claims get denied.

"We would be interested in knowing exactly which claims are denied based on ZIP code, based on race and ethnicity, based on age, based on gender," she continued.

She notes that much of what needs to be done to fix health care can be done at the federal level, although states can take the lead. Part of Connecticut's 2023 budget calls for the state's Insurance Department to work with the Office of Health Strategy to study ways to make care more affordable.