Texas is one of 12 states to not expand Medicaid, and a new report showed it is one reason the state is falling further behind others in providing access to health care.

The Build Back Better Act would have given Texans with incomes below the poverty line a free health insurance option, but the legislation stalled in the Senate and will not be considered again until next year.

Peter Clark, communications director of Texans Care for Children, said the latest report from United Healthcare illustrates the challenge families face.

"When I looked at this report, I'd say it's really disappointing to see that Texas gets a failing grade when it comes to health care," Clark asserted. "But that is the reality of the choices that our state leaders have made."

The percentage of American adults who reported their health as very good or excellent climbed by 13% starting in 2012, but progress plummeted as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, with a 17% increase in the U.S. death rate between 2019 and 2020.

The report showed Texas has a higher-than-average teen birth rate, and significant levels of food insecurity.

Dr. Nicole Brady, chief medical officer for UnitedHealthcare, said in contrast, multiple chronic conditions are not excessive among Texans.

"So, it may not be that we actually got healthier as a nation, from a chronic disease standpoint," Brady contended. "It may be that there's just more undiagnosed disease out there as a result of the way that care changed during the pandemic."

One undiagnosed disease could be cancer, according to Clark. Currently, more than 700,000 Texans fall into the Medicaid coverage gap and don't see a doctor with any regularity.

"The report shows that Texans are missing out on cancer screenings, which means that by the time you realize you have cancer, it's already spread," Clark explained. "It's more dangerous, and it's more expensive to treat."

Dr. Arethusa Kirk, chief medical officer for UnitedHealthcare Community and State, reported breast cancer screenings in the U.S. declined by 17% from 2019 and 2020, and the number was even higher for people missing colon cancer screenings, at 23%.

"Get back into your primary care office," Kirk urged. "Make sure you get all of the screenings that occur in preventive care."

Experts are traveling across the Commonwealth to help community professionals better understand and advocate for policies that help Kentuckians needing assistance with health care, housing, food, transportation, child care, suicide prevention and other resources. Thrive Roadshow workshops are free and available to the public.

Emily Beauregard, executive director of Kentucky Voices for Health, said attendees will receive updates on policy changes and funding for programs that impact folks in their communities.

"Our focus with the roadshow is to make sure community professionals who are interacting with folks on a daily basis really have the resources and skills that they need to advocate for the policies and programs that are right for their communities," she explained.

More information on Thrive Roadshow events happening in Frankfort, Pikeville, Williamsburg, Murray and elsewhere is online at ThrivingCommunities2024.

Tiffany Taul-Scruggs, patient service outreach manager with Mount Sterling Healthcare, said her team of Community Health Workers relied on the Thrive program to better understand the Medicaid Renewal process, so they could improve serving their patient population.

"One of the things that I really found useful is that they are a group that I can depend on, or if I need to call them to talk about things, they really do a lot of prep work behind the scenes, " she explained.

According to the healthcare advocacy group KFF, more than 1.6 million million people in Kentucky are covered by Medicaid. More than half of the Commonwealth's Medicaid spending is for people who are elderly or those with disabilities.

Unintentional injuries are among the top ten leading causes of death for older adults, and during Older Americans Month, experts want to raise awareness about the importance of prevention as adults age.

Holly Billie, a tribal injury advocate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Injury Center, said Indigenous communities around the country, including Utah's eight Tribal Nations, face unique challenges relating to falls and motor vehicle crashes.

"They have higher motor vehicle crash death rates compared to older adults of other races and ethnicities. Disparities are usually a problem in tribal communities," Billie said.

Billie added while disparities relating to falls and motor vehicle crashes are higher in Indigenous communities, it's important to remember that most of these injuries are preventable. In an effort to decrease the susceptibility to injury or even death, Billie contends the answer could lie within social connectedness. She noted those who have close, supportive relationships have been shown to live longer, and encourages Tribal Nations to think about creative ways to further cultivate a sense of community.

Gwen Bergen, team lead with the CDC's Injury Center, said unintentional injuries can impair older adults from doing the things they want and need to do to stay healthy, happy and connected. For those who are concerned about their ability to drive, or their chances of falling, she recommends having open and honest conversations with medical providers as well as caretakers.

"Another important thing to do is to consider, with your doctor, what kinds of medicines you're taking and what the side effects of those may be. Certain medications can have side effects that can increase your risk of falling or increase your risk of being in a motor vehicle crash," Bergen said.

To prevent falls, she encouraged practicing strength and balance exercises, as well as taking part in physical activity that increases muscle strength such as walking, group exercise or low-impact sports.

A Chicago mom who lost her son to cancer in 2022 is using the occasion of Mother's Day to call on Illinois lawmakers to pass medical aid-in-dying legislation.

Suzy Flack's 34-year-old son Andrew was a special-education teacher and avid hockey player living in California when he learned his cancer was terminal. Rather than return to his home state, he stayed in California, where medical aid-in-dying is legal.

Now, with such legislation under consideration by Illinois lawmakers, Suzy Flack is using social media to urge its passage.

"Like I said in the video, I didn't realize how horrific cancer was," she said. "So, I would really like to stress that that comfort level that he had because he had the control over his death."

The legislation would allow mentally capable, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live the option to request a prescription for medication they could use to end their life.

According to a 2023 survey by the group Compassion & Choices, more than 70% of Illinois residents support such a law, while 17% would oppose it.

With no legal way to end his life in his home state, Flack said her son was unwilling to leave California because he wanted a peaceful death.

"That option of having the medication was strong enough to keep him there, despite missing his family," she said, "and certainly, it would have been easier for all of us if he had been back in Illinois."

In addition to California, medical aid-in-dying is authorized in ten other states and Washington, D.C., while two additional states - Wisconsin and Massachusetts - are considering legalization. The Chicago-based American Medical Association has not endorsed the legislation.