Dear Closing the Health Gap Community:

A recent federal budget bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives is now under consideration in the Senate—and it could have profound implications for our neighbors here in Cincinnati. Ohio’s expansion of Medicaid has provided health coverage to nearly 750,000 low-income residents. But that safety net is now at risk. Proposed Medicaid cuts would disproportionately impact our most vulnerable populations—children, the elderly, and working families—leading to increased ER visits, medical debt, and a weakened healthcare system. In a city already fighting health inequities, this would be a devastating setback.

At the Center for Closing the Health Gap, we urge you to stay informed, speak up, and stand with us in protecting Medicaid. Health is a right—not a privilege.

Blessings for a safe and healthy week ahead.

Renee Mahaffey Harris

President & CEO

Largest Medicaid Cut in U.S. History Would Leave Millions Vulnerable

A proposal that would strip health insurance from at least 8.6 million people advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week. This policy is part of a larger bill that would slash over a trillion dollars in health and social services over the next 10 years to prolong tax cuts—which were passed in 2017 and set to expire Jan. 1, 2026— for the nation’s wealthiest.

While most income groups would receive some form of tax relief, the benefits are heavily skewed toward the top 0.1% of earners, those making $3.5 million or more annually for a family of two, according to estimates from the Treasury’s Office of Tax Analysis. Proposed health care cuts will amount to over $700 billion over the next decade, mostly from Medicaid, a program nearly 80 million people rely on, including low-income adults, working families, children, seniors and people with disabilities.

Inequality in infrastructure access and its association with health disparities

Economic, social and environmental infrastructure forms a fundamental pillar of societal development. Ensuring equitable access to infrastructure for all residents is crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, yet knowledge gaps remain in infrastructure accessibility and inequality and their associations with human health. Here we generate gridded maps of economic, social and environmental infrastructure distribution and apply population-weighted exposure models and mixed-effects regressions to investigate differences in population access to infrastructure and their health implications across 166 countries. The results reveal contrasting inequalities in infrastructure access across regions and infrastructure types.

Black Patients, Women Face Worse Outcomes, Death In Heart & Blood Vessel Procedures

Women and Black patients are more likely to suffer life-changing complications from advanced heart and blood vessel procedures, a trio of new studies says.

Women face a higher risk of complications after procedures aimed at replacing heart valves or altering the heart’s structure to reduce risk of stroke, researchers reported at a recent meeting of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) in Washington, D.C. And Black patients had a significantly higher risk of amputation and death following a procedure aimed at reopening blocked blood flow to the arms or legs, researchers added.

“After many decades, we are finally starting to see an increasing interest in addressing serious health outcomes among specific population groups,” SCAI President Dr. James Hermiller said in a news release of the three studies. 

Assessing health care disparities in US organ procurement organizations

There is extensive system-wide evidence of disparities in access to organ transplantation in the US based on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. However, little information is available regarding care disparities among US organ procurement organizations (OPOs). Commissioned by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), we studied racial/ethnic disparities in organ donation and transplantation across and within OPOs. Based on the 2020 CMS final rule, we calculated OPO donation and organ transplantation rates with 95% confidence intervals for racial (Black, White, and Asian American and Pacific Islander, AAPI) and ethnic (Hispanic and non-Hispanic) groups. OPOs were ranked with national rates as references and classified according to the CMS 3-tier system. Of the 58 OPOs, 8 and 4 had donation rates lower for Black and AAPI donors than for White donors; 21 and 18 had organ transplantation rates lower for Black and AAPI donors than for White donors; 1 and 1 had a donation rate or organ transplantation rate lower for Hispanic donors than for non-Hispanic donors.