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Louisiana teachers' union concerned about educators' future; Supreme Court hears arguments in Trump immunity case; court issues restraining order against fracking waste-storage facility; landmark NE agreement takes a proactive approach to CO2 pipeline risks.

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Speaker Johnson accuses demonstrating students of getting support from Hamas. TikTok says it'll challenge the ban. And the Supreme Court dives into the gray area between abortion and pregnancy healthcare, and into former President Trump's broad immunity claims.

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The urban-rural death divide is widening for working-age Americans, many home internet connections established for rural students during COVID have been broken, and a new federal rule aims to put the "public" back in public lands.

Study: Baby Boomers will Cause Biggest Strain to Primary Care

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Tuesday, August 23, 2011   

ARLINGTON, Va. - An estimated 21 million people will gain health insurance by 2014 as a direct result of The Affordable Care Act. However, according to a recent report analyzing current health care trends, the biggest strain on primary care in Virginia will not come from the newly insured, but from the aging of the population.

Peggy Whitehead is executive director for Blue Ridge Medical Center, a community health center in Nelson County where 19 percent of the population is 65 or older, and she says changes will be evident.

"Our number of patients to providers is about 851 in Nelson County, so right now we're adequately meeting the need, but as time goes on, I think we're going to be stretched."

Whitehead says that with an aging population comes an increase in chronic illness. She adds that community health centers such as hers have, so far, been able to pick up the slack in medically under-served areas, and to provide care at lower costs to patients.

Whitehead says pending budget talks in Washington are a major concern, as cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, and possibly to funding for community health centers, could all be on the table.

"I mean, we really need that federal funding in order to make it possible to offer a viable sliding fee scale for our patients and to meet the needs of people who are, more and more often, needing our assistance."

According to the report, by 2021 outpatient visits will increase by almost 20 percent compared with this year, and only one-quarter of the increase will be the result of more people having health insurance.

The study, "Will Health Reform's Newly Insured Overcrowd the Health Care System?" is at www.leavittpartnersblog.com




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