Medicaid continues to constitute a key component of the safety net for low-income households, covering more than 76 million Americans in 2016. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), 37 states expanded Medicaid to cover adults with incomes up to 138 percent of th... More »
In 2018, there were 234,000 new cases of lung and bronchus cancer in the U.S. and 154,050 estimated deaths — the highest among all types of cancers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking is linked to 80 to 90 percent of... More »
In 2017, as opioid-related deaths surpassed deaths from car accidents and gun homicides combined, the Trump Administration declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. Since then, policymakers have responded with solutions ranging from pharmacological... More »
Childhood obesity is an issue in the United States. According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 5 school-age children and young people (ages 6 to 19) in the U.S. experienced obesity from 2015–2016. Policymakers have experimented with several policies to prevent obesity ... More »
The current opioid epidemic is unprecedented in its scope, accounting for the deaths of 72,000 Americans in 2017 and surpassing deaths from car accidents and gun homicides combined. In response, policymakers have been attempting to find solutions. One attempte... More »
The earth has warmed by 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century. This may seem insignificant to a layperson, but scientists and health experts agree that climate change poses a serious threat not only to the environment, but a... More »
In a rapidly transforming and ever-globalizing world, countries continue to advance unevenly in technology, development and infrastructure. As a result, low- to middle-income countries have struggled to respond to the widening wealth gap, which leaves marginal... More »
Opioid use can be traced back at least as far as the end of the 3rd millennium B.C., with notable crises worldwide in both the 19th and 20th centuries. However, today’s epidemic is “the worst drug addiction epidemic in [U.S.] history,” accounting for the death... More »
A home is an invaluable space, providing not only physical shelter but also psychological sanctuary and security. In January 2017, the National Alliance to End Homelessness identified 553,742 homeless individuals living in the U.S. Housing instability causes n... More »
In 2016, 45 percent of health insurance plans purchased on Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces were considered narrow network plans. Narrow network plans are defined as those that cover less than 25 percent of physicians in a specific geographic area. Amid ... More »
From the Trump administration’s promise to build a wall along the Mexican border to the separation of children from migrants attempting to enter the U.S., issues related to immigration policy have dominated American politics. Recent proposals by the Trump admi... More »
A new study suggests that mandatory physician-led monitoring of opioid prescriptions may be an important tool in the effort to combat opioid abuse. The opioid epidemic is an increasingly serious problem in the United States, with over 50,000 people killed by o... More »