Trump's White Nationalism Damages Healthcare
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Low Income & Minority Cancer Patients At Risk
Yesterday we wrote about Trump’s plan to close the NIH department, The Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities.
Today we learn that low income and minorities are not screened or made aware of some of the latest advances that could help treat their cancer based on genetics.
A study in JAMA found that many patients are not receiving genetic sequencing, which can often greatly improve a person's chances of survival. Patients with a low income, Medicare or Medicaid coverage, and those of Black or Hispanic ethnicity were less likely to receive sequencing. (KFF)
Life-prolonging targeted therapies are available based on alterations detected on next-generation sequencing (NGS).
The researchers wanted to know if there are trends and disparities in the use of next-generation sequencing testing among patients with advanced cancers in the US?
In their cohort study of 63, 294 patients with advanced or metastatic breast, prostate, colorectal, pancreatic, and lung cancers, most patients did not undergo tumor genomic testing. Patients with low socioeconomic status, Black or Hispanic patients, and those covered by Medicaid or Medicare experienced significantly longer time to testing in some of these cancers compared with their respective reference groups.
In other words - low income and Black and Hispanic patients are not receiving such testing in a timely fashion even though those can lead to significant life prolonging treatments.
You would think that an NIH office whose mission was Minority Health would be on top of this problem, if anyone were still working in that office.
Welcome to the white nationalist world
Trump’s Anti-Immigration Policy and Health
Trump has increased the H-1B visa cost that brings specialized workers to the US from $2500 to $100,000. This will severely curtail immigration in a variety of fields. That includes, doctors, nurses, and health care workers.
The healthcare workforce in the U.S. isn’t growing fast enough to meet the need. The U.S. faces a projected shortfall of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036. Hospitals, clinics and elder-care services are expected to add about 2.1 million jobs between 2022 and 2032.
For decades, immigrant health care workers have filled gaps where U.S.-born workers are limited. They serve as doctors in rural clinics, nurses in understaffed hospitals and aides in nursing homes and home care settings.
Nationally, immigrants make up about 18% of the health care workforce, and they’re even more concentrated in critical roles. Roughly 1 in 4 physicians, 1 in 5 registered nurses and 1 in 3 home health aides are foreign-born. In California, more than 33% of the healthcare workforce are immigrants (including doctors). In New York it is 57%.
Patients don’t feel staffing gaps as statistics – they feel them physically.
A specialist appointment delayed by months can mean worsening pain or death. Older adults without home care aides face higher risks of falls, malnutrition and medication errors. An understaffed nursing home turning away patients leaves families scrambling. These aren’t hypotheticals – they’re already happening in pockets of the country where shortages are acute.
Americans will notice the problem when it becomes harder to get care for a child, a partner or an aging parent and when they notice - it is already too late.
Aligning immigration policy with the realities of the health care system will not, by itself, fix every problem in U.S. health care. But tightening the immigration rules in the face of rising demand and known shortages almost guarantees more disruption. (The Conversation)
The hate exhibited by the white nationalist Trump administration is damaging healthcare for all of us.
Let’s tell Congress they can fix this one.
Action
Contact your Congressperson and Senators and tell them it is time to fix health care in America. They can start by setting the H-1B visa price back to $2500 then they can implement Universal Healthcare so everyone can go to the doctor without going broke.
You can reach them here or
Text SIGN PSRJVN to 50409 (@Resistbot) on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram) to send them this message below. (Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)
“I am one of your constituents and I know that our country is in chaos. So are Americans. It is hard for each of us to get to a doctor. It is expensive and millions of us don’t have insurance anymore because we can’t afford it, thanks to the cruel budget cuts implemented last year,
We also have a doctor shortage and the new Trump $100,000 H-1B visa cost will just guarantee that the healthcare workforce shortage gets worse.
What patients will see with the increased visa cost is that it takes longer for them or their parents or children to get to see a doctor. It will take longer to start cancer treatment and longer to get the surgery they need. And if nursing and healthcare staffing continues to shrink, we can expect more infections, more injury due to patient slips and falls, and more medication errors.
I want you to restore the $2500 cost for H-1B visas and then enact Universal Healthcare like HR 3069 or S 1506 so we can all have health insurance and go to the doctor without going broke.”
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RESOURCES
Find My Elected Officials
Contact State and Federal Representatives - phone and email
Healthcare Advocacy (Us) Website
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare - Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
American Academy of Pediatrics Childhood Vaccination Schedule
Here is their guide to recommended vaccinations.
CDC Childhood Vaccination Schedules (Archived Before RFK Jr.’s Attack on Health
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All, Physicians for a National Health Program, One Payer States, Healthcare Now
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do
Appeal a Healthcare Decision, Appeal/Negotiate a Hospital Bill
Disinformation Management
Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency
Library of Advice, Specific Advice
Claims Denied
We can use the tool here to protest.