Colorado ocupa el decimoquinto lugar en el país con mayor tasa de personas que pierden el seguro médico de Medicaid después de que las protecciones de la era de la pandemia terminaran el 31 de marzo.

De los casi 70 mil habitantes de Colorado que perdieron la cobertura en Julio, 50,000 seguían siendo elegibles, según datos estatales.

Simon Smith, presidente y CEO de Clinica Family Health, dice que muchos perdieron la cobertura, no porque ganaran demasiado dinero para tener derecho a ella, sino por razones de procedimiento. Ellos no sabían que tenían que volver a inscribirse, o no llenaron el formulario correctamente.

"Hay muchas personas en todo Colorado que pueden estar perdiendo cobertura y todavía son elegibles para Medicaid, pero están siendo dados de baja debido a estos procesos", asegura Smith. "Eso es realmente preocupante."

Muchas personas se inscribieron en Medicaid después de perder su trabajo y la cobertura que les ofrecía su empresa, y se volvieron a inscribir automáticamente durante la emergencia sanitaria.

Los defensores argumentan que la mayoría de la gente está ahora de vuelta en el trabajo, y que detener las renovaciones automáticas ahorrará dinero a los contribuyentes al devolver la inscripción a los niveles anteriores a la pandemia.

Los habitantes de Colorado pueden solicitar o mantener su cobertura médica en 'HealthFirstColorado.com.'


Las personas sin seguro tienden a evitar las consultas preventivas para ahorrar dinero, y Smith señala que muchos posponen la búsqueda de atención hasta que una afección se convierte en crisis y acaban en urgencias, y esta es la forma más cara de atención.

Esos costos más elevados acaban repartiéndose por todo el sistema de atención médica.

"A medida que aumentan las tasas de personas sin seguro y los cuidados no compensados, suben las tarifas de otras aseguradoras," dice Smith. "Hay un impacto sistémico asociado a la gente que pierde su seguro."

Clínica -que atiende a todos los pacientes independientemente de su capacidad de pago- ya ha perdido $500,000, y se prevé que pierda $2 millones este año en comparación con los ingresos antes de que los habitantes de Colorado comenzaran a ser excluidos de Medicaid.

Smith dice que esas pérdidas, combinadas con el aumento de los costos, dificultan que los centros de salud comunitarios que atienden principalmente a pacientes de Medicaid y a personas sin seguro médico mantengan sus puertas abiertas.

"Es un peligro real, y es un peligro al que nos enfrentamos aquí en Colorado," sostiene Smith. "Si el equilibrio de ingresos y pacientes asegurados comienza a disminuir, tendrá un impacto real en la capacidad de los centros de salud comunitarios para seguir prestando servicios."




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People who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, will be dropped from their CoveredCA health plans at the end of August.

The move comes after the Trump administration changed a Biden-era definition of "lawfully present" to revoke health care eligibility for thousands of immigrants.

Christine Smith, policy and legislative advocate for the nonprofit Health Access California, said people only have a few weeks to get medical appointments in before their coverage ends.

"If you're enrolled in Covered California and you're a DACA recipient, the Trump administration just ended your coverage," Smith emphasized. "People should use as much of your health care as you can before the August 31st deadline."

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services defended the move, saying it will save taxpayers money. CoveredCA estimated the change affects about 2,400 DACA recipients in the state who make too much to qualify for Medi-Cal and have jobs not providing health insurance. They can still buy private insurance but it is much more expensive. People who prepaid for their coverage can seek a refund.

Smith predicted it will be a blow not just to those who lose coverage but to the state's health care system as a whole.

"The lines in the ERs are going to be longer because people are not going to be able to get affordable preventive care," Smith projected. "They're just going to get sicker and then end up in the ERs. People will overall incur more medical debt. Hospitals will have more uncompensated care."

The change is nationwide. As of mid-July, about 538,000 people in the DACA program across the U.S. are ineligible to enroll in any state-based insurance marketplace and are unable to access premium subsidies or cost-sharing assistance.

Artificial intelligence is appearing more prominently in many aspects of life and research suggests older populations are curious, yet remain wary of using the technology in their everyday lives.

According to Stats Indiana, there are more than 1.5 million Hoosiers aged 65 and older, or 18% of the state's population. Experts said it is likely the demographic will use AI in some form in the next few years, either by choice or necessity.

Dr. Shaun Grannis, vice president of data and analytics for the Regenstrief Institute on Aging, said AI offers real benefits.

"It can reduce loneliness through conversation, provide reminders for medications and appointments," Grannis outlined. "It can support cognitive stimulation via games, storytelling, news updates."

The technology can also offer a low-pressure way to access information on public services, he added, which is valuable for those with mobility issues or those who feel intimidated by technology.

Grannis cautioned any tool which can be used for good can also lead to problems. He noted AI can create a false sense of companionship and mask social isolation. Overdependence is a legitimate concern, he argued, if the technology becomes a "crutch" for all forms of interaction.

"All cognitive activities or decision-making, it can actually lead to and create a negative feedback loop, lead to a decline in engagement and even basic self-management skills," Grannis explained. "This is risky."

Grannis believes one solution is designing AI systems to complement, not replace, human interaction. He stressed it can be done though building broader support ecosystems including family, friends, caregivers and community services. Grannis emphasized it would encourage real-world activity, prompting the user to go for a walk, call a grandchild or attend a local senior event.

If you have an extra five minutes, you can save a life because you can learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation at no cost from a new mobile, hands-only CPR kiosk.

The new kiosk is in the lobby of Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. The machine's touch screen gives a brief overview of hands-only CPR and you can practice right there, on a mannequin.

Dr. Rigved Tadwalkar, cardiologist at St. John's, said it is an easy way for people to get more comfortable giving chest compressions in an emergency.

"It's a lot like a video game but of course, a lot more important than a video game," Tadwalkar pointed out. "It gives real-time feedback about the depth and rate of compressions, proper hand placement, which are all factors that influence the effectiveness of CPR."

The American Heart Association operates the St. John's mobile kiosk and a stationary model at L-A-X with support from the hospital. Santiago Canyon College in Orange County also has a mobile hands-only C-P-R kiosk now through September, sponsored by Edwards Lifesciences.

Steven Munatones, an Orange County business owner, said he survived what's known as a "widowmaker" heart attack which led to cardiac arrest nine years ago, thanks to his 17-year-old son, who gave him immediate CPR with instructions from a 911 operator.

"You don't have to put your mouth to anybody's mouth," Munatones explained. "You just put your hand on their chest and pump. He saved me, and others can do the same, anywhere. So, it's absolutely a lifesaving, heroic act that anybody can do."

Statistics show 350,000 Americans suffer from cardiac arrest outside a hospital each year and about 90% die, in part because they do not receive CPR. About 70% of those cardiac arrests happen at home, so people often depend on family or friends to give CPR before an ambulance arrives.