HHS announces $200M investment in geriatric care
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced this week more than $200 million in funding to help providers meet older adults’ needs and support their family members and caregivers.
The funds will be awarded to 42 programs across the country working to improve care for older adults, including individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
HRSA’s Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program will train primary care physicians, nurses, and other health care providers to provide “age-friendly” and “dementia-friendly” care for older adults. The program will also equip older adults’ family members and caregivers with the knowledge and skills to help them support their loved ones.
“Among the most trusted people in the lives of older adults are their family members and their caregivers, including their primary care provider,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson in a statement. “At the Health Resources and Services Administration, we are committed to supporting the clinicians that older patients trust to care for them as they age, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.”
CDC study: Loneliness significantly higher among bisexual and transgender adults
Loneliness has a serious impact on a person’s mental and physical health, and individuals who identify s bisexual and transgender are significantly more likely to experience loneliness, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The study used data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to analyze the associations between loneliness and lack of social and emotional support with mental health.
Key findings include:
- Loneliness and lack of social and emotional support were highest among adults aged 18-34 years old, those with less than a high school education, those who never married, and those with a household income below $25,000.
- Loneliness was significantly higher among individuals who identified as gay (41.2 percent), lesbian (44.8 percent), bisexual (56.7 percent), or something other than gay, lesbian, bisexual, or straight (50.7 percent), compared to those who identified as straight (30.3 percent).
- Loneliness was significantly higher among adults who were transgender female (56.4 percent), transgender male (62.6 percent), or transgender gender nonconforming (63.9 percent).
- Lack of social and emotional support was also significantly more common among adults who identified as gay (29 percent), bisexual (36.5 percent) and something other than gay, lesbian, bisexual, or straight (39.3 percent) compared to those who identified as straight (22.8 percent), and prevalence among adults who were transgender female (44.8 percent), transgender male (34.4 percent), or transgender gender nonconforming (41.4 percent) was significantly higher than among those who were cisgender (23.8 percent).
HHS allows 5 states to provide health care coverage to those transitioning out of incarceration
HHS, through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), has authorized five states to provide health care coverage to incarcerated individuals prior to their release to ensure a smooth transition and prevent gaps in coverage. The five states include: Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, Utah, and Vermont.
The “historic” health care coverage authorization will allow the states to cover certain services not otherwise coverable in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) up to 90 days before an eligible person’s expected release from incarceration, including coverage of substance-use disorder (SUD) treatment before a Medicaid or CHIP beneficiary is released from jail, prison, or a youth correctional facility. States will also be able to help connect the person to community-based Medicaid and CHIP providers up to 90 days prior to their release to ensure they can continue their treatment after they return to the community.
“For the first time ever, thousands of incarcerated people in Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, Utah, and Vermont will have critical supports during their transition out of a carceral setting, thanks to this important health care coverage,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure in a statement. “At the heart of that work are Medicaid and CHIP —programs that continue to bring states and the federal government together to meet the needs of our communities. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, that’s meant more innovation than ever before to enhance public health and public safety.”