This Saturday, St. Francois County Community Partnership is holding its annual Health Expo, called “Taking Back Your Health,” after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Health professionals will be there giving screenings at no cost, for blood pressure, glucose levels and even breast cancer.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions to many patients’ health care routines.
William Bunch, executive director of the St. Francois County Community Partnership (SFCCP), said it could be an opportunity to get back into it. He explained depending on the results, vendors will make referrals to follow up.
“People can come in the morning to our event, and take advantage of these free health screenings, worth thousands of dollars,” Bunch pointed out. “It’s not an income-based thing. Anybody that walks in can take advantage of these.”
Bunch noted there will also be games and activities for kids, snacks and drinks, demonstrations and emergency vehicle tours. SFCCP is one of the Missouri Family and Community Trust’s 20 Community Partnerships across the state. Folks can go to mofact.org to find out if their local partnership offers similar resources.
Bunch added many Missourians often forget about preventive health care, and respond to symptoms or conditions as they worsen rather than catching them early. He noted Missouri Baptist Hospital sends a mammogram van for uninsured or underinsured women age 40 to 64, which in the past has been able to catch instances of breast cancer at early stages.
“It’s best to get an annual checkup and catch these things ahead of time,” Bunch urged. “It’s much more cost-effective to do it that way instead of going to the emergency room, which is extremely expensive. And a lot of insurances carry a high deductible on that.”
Data from Epic Research shows cancer screenings nationwide have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Breast and colon cancer screenings remain at two to four points below baseline, and cervical cancer screenings are 10% below baseline, an estimated 68,000 missed breast cancer exams and 27,000 missed screenings for colon cancer.
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More than 1.8 million Texans signed up for health insurance this year under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), up 42% from 2021, providing more than 500,000 Texans with marketplace health coverage.
Shao-Chee Sim, vice president for research, innovation and evaluation at the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF), said more Texans received federal financial assistance to pay their insurance premiums than ever before, which dropped the average policy price from $557 per month to $86 .
“When there are more Texans having health insurance coverage, it will give them access to many preventative health services,” Sim explained. “It’s also kind-of giving them a sense of security; health insurance coverage that will cover most of their expenses.”
He pointed out most people selected what are known as silver-level health plans, which means the insurance company pays 70% of covered expenses, and the patient pays the remaining 30%. Texas lawmakers have consistently opted not to expand Medicaid or create a similar program to cover the lowest-income Texans.
EHF research shows most people in the insurance marketplace are returning customers. Adults aged 55-64 make up the largest category of enrollees. Among them, 55% are women, and 12% live in rural parts of the state.
Despite the record ACA enrollment numbers, Texas remains the state with the highest uninsured rate in the nation and the most uninsured residents. To keep from backsliding, Sim thinks continued federal subsidies are needed.
“We hope that they will approve an extension of this federal subsidies beyond 2022,” Sim stressed. “If not, I mean, the ACA marketplace is still around … it’s just that it may not be as affordable.”
In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden called on Congress to approve extending federal subsidies beyond this year. It also was part of his Build Back Better agenda, which passed in the US House but stalled in the Senate.
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Research shows Black men are less likely to have a primary-care doctor and regular checkups.
A barber in Greensboro said haircuts can be a time to discuss health misinformation and even check blood pressure.
Anthony Pettiford, owner of United Barbershop in Greensboro, said barbers can help educate their clients on the risk factors and warning signs for heart disease and stroke.
“What I’ve noticed about the Black community is a lot of men do not like going to the doctor,” Pettiford observed. “And I’ve seen it firsthand that they don’t like going to the doctors. We’ve lost quite a few customers that have come through the shop to strokes, heart attacks.”
Pettiford’s barbershop is one of seven shops and salons in the Triad that are part of the Hair,
Heart & Health program, an initiative led by the American Heart Association with support from
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. More information on the program and participating barbershops is online at heart.org/triad.
More than half of Black adults nationwide have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Pettiford pointed out he provides blood pressure checks and explains blood pressure readings to interested clients.
“Once you bring awareness, hopefully they pick up or may become concerned about their own personal health,” Pettiford explained. “You try to put that on the floor to let them know the importance of health.”
He added he respects his patients’ viewpoints and friendship, first and foremost, even if they do not agree on the importance of visiting the doctor.
“I believe a barber is more like a psychiatrist,” Pettiford contended. “For them to even get in your chair there’s got to be a trust factor. And once you win the trust, that’s how I have developed my relationships throughout the years.”
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found 56% of Black Americans said they had at least one negative experience at the doctor’s office, including having to speak up to get the proper care and being treated with less respect than other patients.
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Black women’s health in Arkansas and beyond is in a dire situation, according to a new report which showed more collaboration is needed to address health care disparities and barriers.
The report by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families gave an overview not only of the racial health disparities Black women face, but social determinants of health playing a role, such as environment and education.
CaSandra Glover, health policy analyst for the group and the report’s author, said it is important to recognize how policy decisions, from discriminatory housing practices like redlining to hospital closures, have affected Black women’s health.
“It results in a lot of people maybe not receiving the specialty or quality care regarding a specific health condition,” Glover observed. “Or people may even choose to forgo treatment because they may not have transportation to actually get to the closest medical facility that could actually treat the condition in the best manner.”
An Arkansas Minority Health Commission study found significantly higher percentages of Black and Hispanic people reported being victims of discrimination in health care compared to their white counterparts.
The report included policy solutions and recommendations, with a focus on viewing them through a racial equity lens. Glover added expanding Medicaid coverage for pregnant people from 60 days after birth to 12 months could help address the Black maternal mortality crisis.
“There’s a lot of health conditions that could take place during that entire year, post having a baby,” Glover pointed out. “And we need to make sure that mothers have access to care, especially mothers who may not also have financial resources. We want to make sure that the mother and the baby is going to be taken care of within that first year.”
Currently, Arkansas ranks fifth-worst in the nation for its maternal mortality rate. The report stressed the importance of increasing the number of Black medical professionals.
The Arkansas Minority Health Commission said it is actively working to help increase the number of Black physicians in the state.
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