Citizens

Local U.S. governments planning to use Covid relief funds to ease medical debtss

Wed, 2023-02-15 09:25 — mike kraft

Governments target medical debt with COVID relief funds Millions of Americans mired in medical debt face difficult financial decisions every day — pay the debt or pay for rent, utilities and groceries. Some may even skip necessary health care for fear of sinking deeper into debt.

...To address the problem, an increasing number of municipal, county and state governments are devising plans to spend federal coronavirus pandemic relief funds to eliminate residents’ medical debt and ease those debt burdens. ...

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Most Americans are not concerned about getting seriously ill from Covid-19, flu and RSV --survey

Tue, 2023-02-07 09:54 — mike kraft

Despite recent widespread illness in US, Covid-19, flu and RSV are not a concern for most, survey finds | CNN Respiratory viruses -- including the flu, RSV and the virus that causes Covid-19 -- are not a serious concern for most of the US public, even though they're still affecting many, according to new survey data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Deidre McPhillips CNN

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China's Covid cases touch 900 million, peak expected to last 2-3 months

Fri, 2023-01-13 10:46 — mike kraft

China COVID peak to last 2-3 months, hit rural areas next - expert The peak of China's COVID-19 wave is expected to last two to three months, and will soon swell over the vast countryside where medical resources are relatively scarce, a top Chinese epidemiologist has said. Bernard Orr,Ellen Zhang Reuters

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COVID-19 Relief Funds: GAO Recomends improvments in Future Distribution of Federal Emergency Relief to Tribal Recipients

Fri, 2022-12-16 16:58 — mike kraft

COVID-19 Relief Funds: Lessons Learned Could Improve Future Distribution of Federal Emergency Relief to Tribal Recipients The public health and economic effects of COVID-19 on tribal nations have been especially severe. To help tribes recover, Congress's pandemic relief... U.S. Government Accountability Office USGAO

GAO Rport Summary

The public health and economic effects of COVID-19 on tribal nations have been especially severe. To help tribes recover, Congress's pandemic relief funding has included at least $43.6 billion to support new and existing programs that tribes could use to address their unique needs.

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Americans' Out-of-pocket health costs spiked in 2021

Thu, 2022-12-15 19:10 — mike kraft

Patients' health care spending spiked in 2021 Out-of-pocket health spending grew by 10.4% in 2021, the fastest growth rate since 1985. Caitlin Owens Axios

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People in U.S. Rural Areas Die at Higher Rates Than Those in Urban Areas

Wed, 2022-12-14 19:21 — mike kraft

People in Rural Areas Die at Higher Rates Than Those in Urban Areas Deaths from heart disease, cancer and COVID are all higher in rural areas than urban ones in the U.S., and the gap is only widening Tanya Lewis Scientific American

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t's Time to Wear a Mask Again, Health Experts Say

Wed, 2022-12-14 10:20 — mike kraft

It's Time to Wear a Mask Again, Health Experts Say Masks are back, and, this time, they’re not just for COVID-19. A “tripledemic” of the coronavirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, sweeping through the United States has prompted several cities and counties, including New York City and Los Angeles County, to encourage people to wear a mask in indoor public spaces once again. Nationwide, COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations have spiked by 56% and 24%, respectively, over the past two weeks. The Centers for Disease Cont YahooNews

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Public attitudes: Covid Rates Are Climbing in Los Angeles, but Residents Are Weary

Fri, 2022-12-09 10:31 — mike kraft

It’s that time of year, when rising Covid cases collide with holiday plans. Hospitalizations in Los Angeles County have nearly tripled in the past month, and the county is talking about a possible mask mandate.

It’s the same line of thinking that Los Angeles County leaders had when Covid cases rose this summer. And there was a time when masks were required at the county’s airports and on public transit even though state and federal requirements had been relaxed.

But a mask decree now would land in a region where social habits and emotions about Covid have greatly shifted since the previous two winters of rising cases.

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