
Alabama House expedites Medicaid for pregnant women, joining other states with high mortality rates
MONTOGMERY, Ala. — A bill that would expedite Medicaid coverage and prenatal health care for low-income pregnant women in Alabama has advanced as lawmakers across the South try to address rising maternal and infant mortality rates.
The 'presumptive eligibility' legislation states that Medicaid will pay for a pregnant woman's outpatient medical care for up to 60 days while her application for the government-funded insurance program is being considered.
'This way we cut out some of the red tape, we get them in as quickly as possible,' said Rep. Marilyn Lands, the Democrat representing Huntsville who introduced the bill.

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700 Rhode Islanders to lose Medicaid coverage; state blames old mistake
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
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Missouri continues to lag behind most states in children's health, report finds
(Rebecca Rivas/Missouri Independent). Missouri ranked in the bottom third of all states for children's health, according to a report released Monday — due in part to a high rate of child and teen deaths. The annual Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which used data from 2023, evaluated all states on four metrics of child well-being: health, economic well-being, education, and family and community. Missouri ranked near the middle of states for overall child well-being, at 27th out of 50, weighed down by poor performance in health and education. Missouri's rankings in the four categories were: 13th in economic well-being, 33rd in education, 35th in health And 25th in family & community. 'Children's health remains an area of concern,' noted a press release Monday from Family and Community Trust, the Missouri-based nonprofit partner to Kids Count. Only nine states had higher rates of child and teen deaths in 2023 than Missouri, one of the factors considered in the health ranking. (Those were: Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alaska, Oklahoma and Montana.) Missouri generally ranks among the states with the highest rate of firearm deaths for kids. Firearms became the leading cause of kids' deaths in the United States in 2020, surpassing car accidents. While the national average in 2023 was 29 child and teen deaths per 100,000, that number was 37 deaths per 100,000 in Missouri. The national average rose overall in 2023. The report notes that while covid deaths contributed to the increase, the rise was largely due to rising firearm deaths and drug overdoses, particularly among teens ages 15 to 19. Also bringing Missouri's health ranking down: Missouri's rate of low-birth weight babies increased in 2023 from 2019 and is above the national average. Other factors helped Missouri's score. For one, Missouri has seen major improvements in children's insurance coverage since the state implemented Medicaid expansion in 2021. The rate of uninsured kids fell from 7% in 2019 to 5% in 2023, which is now on par with the national average. Nationally, Missouri saw among the sharpest declines in uninsured people overall from 2019 to 2023 with the expansion of Medicaid. Those gains could be threatened by Congress' budget proposal to reduce Medicaid spending in part by imposing more barriers to care. Teen births in the state have gone down, in line with national trends — though the state's average is still above the national one. The rate of overweight or obese kids has also improved in Missouri and is down to 31% of kids in 2023, on par with the national average. The rate of kids in poverty declined to 14% in the state in 2023, below the 16% national average. Missouri's education ranking slipped in recent years. In 2023, 77% of Missouri eighth graders were not proficient at math, according to the report, which is nearly 10 percentage points worse than 2019 and is worse than the national average. The press release from Family and Community Trust said the data show a 'continuing need to invest in education in Missouri.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
3 hours ago
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State looks to tackle heart issues in schools
Photo illustration by Getty Images. Seconds count when it comes to matters of the heart, an issue state legislators are trying to tackle in schools. Signed into law last month, House Bill 869 mandates all public and private schools have a cardiac response plan in case of an emergency. Additionally, it puts $240,000 in state money toward training coaches, school staff and parents to spot the signs of cardiac emergencies as well. The funds can be used to purchase automatic external defibrillators. During the bill's House hearing, Jackie Semmens, a lobbyist with the American Heart Association, said the survival rate of a serious cardiac arrest event generally is about 10%. However, if a person gets a shock within the first minute of the heart stopping, the survival rate is 90%, she said. There's about 23,000 cases of sudden cardiac arrest in children each year, she added. 'Additionally, our schools are community gathering centers, and having the AED present at athletic events can not only save a child's life, but it can save the life of anyone at the event, parents, teachers, grandparents,' Semmens said. 'In our rural schools, having this equipment available is especially important as the time for first responders to arrive on scene may be significant.' Rep. Melissa Romano, a Helena Democrat who brought the legislation, said that of 590 school buildings in Montana, there were about 175 registered AEDs. There likely are more AEDs than that, but still a shortfall. Romano said the idea goes back to a conference she attended in Kentucky. She brought the idea back, mulled it over and worked with the Montana High School Association to craft something that could work for everyone. She has kids involved in sports, too. 'As a parent, you know, the more you learn about sudden cardiac arrest, it's like, 'Oh goodness, this is actually something that we could help prevent,' Romano said. 'If we just have the right equipment in the right places.' Serious cardiac events for children are rare, but the training also means if coaches have problems the equipment is already there. But it has happened in Montana, including a tragedy last year when a high schooler at soccer practice in Kalispell was sent to the intensive care unit after a lightning strike. An AED was used on scene. More than 10 years ago, Columbia Falls athletic director and athletic trainer Troy Bowman saw this first hand. A child collapsed, Bowman and a nurse began CPR and had another teacher retrieve an AED device, which they used with success. 'Later that evening, we were able to visit with him and his family and the young man, he was a freshman at the time, graduated, was able to play golf,' Bowman said during a House hearing for the bill. 'He had an undiagnosed heart condition, which led to his collapse.' Brian Michelotti, the executive director of the MHSA, said the organization's sports medicine's advisory committee has been at work on the issue of cardiac issues in student athletes. In fact, the group had a meeting shortly after Damar Hamlin, a player for the Buffalo Bills, whose heart stopped during an NFL game after he was hit during a play. Hamlin was immediately treated on the field and was able to return to play professional football. 'It was kind of the trigger that really put our sports medicine committee in full gear to make sure that we were doing stuff with AED training and emergency action planning,' Michelotti said. Many schools already have a plan in place. Anaconda Athletic director and basketball coach Dakota Norris said they have a cardiac emergency plan, which has also been the case at previous jobs, he added. Butte Central boys basketball coach Brodie Kelly has had players with heart issues before and he saw the legislation as a good thing. There's many types of injuries coaches have to deal with, Kelly said. 'My thought, is that as coaches, we're in position where these kids could be dealing with any of those issues, and the more educated we are, the more prepared to deal with it, the better,' Kelly said. Additionally, the legislation also extends to middle schools, which haven't been under the same stipulations as high schools. The MHSA has no authority over middle schools, Michelotti said, but they were happy to implement this bill to help them.