Infant Mortality Heads in Wrong Direction
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Medical Debt and Credit Reports
A little while ago we reported that the Biden administration is seeking to remove medical debt from credit reporting. Hopefully, that will occur next year. Today, however, the share of American consumers with medical debt on their credit reports has declined dramatically over the past year as major credit rating agencies removed small unpaid bills and debts that were less than a year old, according to a new analysis from the nonprofit Urban Institute. At the same time, millions of Americans have seen their credit scores improve, making it easier for many to get a job, rent an apartment, or get a car. (KFF)
Offer Help Early (It’s a Start)
Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a report in the Senate a few weeks ago detailing how tax exempt hospitals were failing to offer significant charity care. Most of the major systems offered 2% or less to help patients pay bills. A new Minnesota law requires hospitals to check if patients are eligible for financial assistance before referring medical debt for collections. It's a move that supporters of the change say will ensure people know what help is available and may relieve them of the burden of steep healthcare costs. The provisions took effect Wednesday. (CBS)
Infant Mortality Rises - 1st Time in 20 Years
The number of American babies who died before their first birthdays rose last year, significantly increasing the nation’s infant mortality rate for the first time in two decades, according to provisional figures released Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics. Here is a link to that report and here is a (link to NY Times story). Thanks to Mary, a subscriber and physician for the article.
The increase in infant mortality comes after a century of public health improvements, in which rates consistently and gradually declined almost every year with few exceptions. The provisional number of linked birth/infant deaths for the United States in 2022 was 20,538, an increase of 3% from 2021 (19,928). The provisional infant mortality rate for 2022 was 5.60 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, 3% higher than the rate in 2021 (5.44).
The rates jumped from 2021 to 2022 for White, Hispanic, Native American, and Black women. For White women the rate was 4.52 deaths/1000 live births. For Black Women, who had the highest death rate, it was 10.86, more double the White death rate. When considering the ages of women, it was found that the only group that experienced a significant increase was for infants of women ages 25–29 where it increased from 2021 to 2022 (5.15 infant deaths per 1,000 live births to 5.37). Leading causes of death were maternal complications and infant sepsis.
NCHS provides a map indicating the infant mortality by state here. It is up to date for 2021.
NCHS identified no clear causes for the increases in the report. There may be a relationship to the pandemic and the use of telemedicine as opposed to in office visits, there may also be a relationship to the sweeping abortion bans in 24 states. I am sure there will be significant further investigations because this type of statistic is a serious canary in the healthcare system coal mine.
ACTION
The increase in infant mortality is a serious reversal. It may be evidence of a need to change our healthcare system to .protect more infants. We can all send an email to the National Center for Health Statistics who wrote this report and ask them to continue their investigation to get to root causes.
You can send an email at this link https://wwwn.cdc.gov/dcs/ContactUs/Form.
Here is the email I sent.
Subject: Infant Mortality Report 33
I've just learned from Report 33, "Infant Mortality in the United States: by Danielle M. Ely, Ph.D., and Anne K. Driscoll, Ph.D., that there has been a significant increase in this tragic statistic. I want to encourage you to please continue the investigation to identify what the root causes are. Identifying those causes may show us how to improve our healthcare system and save lives.
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