CHICAGO - President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the bill that created Medicaid and Medicare 47 years ago this week. To mark the anniversary, demonstrators have been taking to the streets of Chicago to protest Medicaid cuts they say threaten their lives and independence.

Shea Ako protests for his 16-month-old son Alejandro, who has a disability known as spinal muscular atrophy. He says the budget cuts could put his son in an institution, even though he's thriving at home.

"Our therapists, our doctors, everybody we work with, they are all so excited because he's doing so well. He really is thriving. We wouldn't trade Alejandro for the world. He's the greatest kid ever. He has this disability. He's doing great. He's happy."

The in-home care is covered by what is known as an MFTD, "medically-fragile, technology-dependent" waiver, which has been cut, but restored temporarily. The state says the cut will save millions of dollars, but MFTD parents say institutionalizing their children will cost even more and won't provide better care.

For Alejandro, his dad says in-home care costs $19,000 a month, compared with $55,000 in an institution.

Because Alejandro is not able to play physically the way other children do, but cognitively he's perfectly normal, his parents spend a lot of time adapting activities so that he can enjoy life to the fullest. And someone is always there to clear his airways when he has trouble breathing.

Ako is afraid his son would not survive in an institution if left alone even for a couple of minutes.

"It happens on a regular basis where he has respiratory episodes. If there was somebody checking on him every 15 minutes, he wouldn't last a week."

Adam Ballard, housing coordinator for the disability-rights group Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago, also faces problems because of the Medicaid cuts. He is a father of two young children who uses a wheelchair and depends on a personal attendant to help him get ready for work in the morning and at home at the end of the day. His in-home service hours will be cut and he says it makes no sense. In general, he says studies show that for the cost of one person in a nursing home the state can pay for home care for three people.

Ballard says Illinois has started to shift dollars, but not enough.

"We're still at about 65 percent of all Medicaid money in the state goes to institutional care. Only about 35 percent goes to in-home care. We really want to see that get closer to 50-50 at the very least."

The protesters are hoping that state lawmakers will reconsider Medicaid cuts during the fall veto session. The MFTD waiver is the subject of a lawsuit and is under review for 90 days.

More information is at www.savemftdwaiver.com and at tinyurl.com/cxou2a3.




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Health advocates are promoting a package of bills this legislative session to make health care easier to get - and more affordable.

The Care 4 All California coalition, which includes more than 70 organizations, unveiled a set of 10 bills Wednesday in Sacramento.

Andrea Rivera, senior legislative advocate for the California Pan Ethnic Health Network, said grassroots support can make big things happen.

"Historically, communities of color, we're not invested in," Rivera pointed out. "Together, we are stronger, louder, and more powerful. Together, we cannot be ignored."

The coalition sees the bills as a series of steps on the way to achieving universal coverage by bringing down costs and removing barriers to care.

Right now, the Affordable Care Act bars undocumented people from purchasing health coverage through the Covered California marketplace.

Asm. Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, introduced a bill to ask the feds for a waiver.

"That's why I introduced a before this year, a bill that will end the unjust exclusion of our undocumented community from Covered California," Arambula explained. "We have to create a health care system that is more universal, affordable and equitable for all Californians."

Asm. Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, authored Assembly Bill 1208 to eliminate deductibles and lower copays for people on Covered California Silver plans. She wrote a second bill to allow Medi-Cal to offer additional services to new mothers.

"AB 608 would expand a mother's access to perinatal health workers who screen for postpartum depression, help with child nutrition, and provide a warm handoff to a host of other social services," Schiavo outlined.

Other bills in the package aim to eliminate surprise ambulance bills, require private health plans to cover things like wheelchairs when prescribed by a doctor, improve access to mental health care for youths, increase oversight of health care mergers, and improve financial transparency from medical groups.


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Colorectal cancer is second only to lung cancer in the number of lives it will take in Iowa this year. Now, doctors at the University of Iowa are studying ways to not only save lives, but reduce the number of colon cancer surgeries for patients.

Currently, colon cancer patients typically have to undergo surgery to have part of their colon removed or resected. Now, University of Iowa researchers are using immunotherapy to reduce surgeries and improve survival rates. If a patient's tumor biopsy has a certain genetic marker or mutation, they can receive targeted therapy instead of undergoing surgery.

Dr. Saima Sharif, Oncologist at the University of Iowa Holden Cancer Center, is directing a new treatment trial and said the number of people with the genetic mutation could be as high as 20%.

"So one in five patients who are getting their colonoscopy is a significant amount of patients," Sharif pointed out. "If we look in Iowa, we are expecting to have about 1,600 new cases diagnosed in 2023."

If doctors can detect the tumors early and treat them, they can reduce the number of people who need surgeries and, potentially, the number of deaths. Researchers began accepting patient applications for the clinical trial this week.

Cancer tricks the body's natural immune system into thinking abnormal cancer cells are normal, so the body will not attack them, allowing the cancer to grow. Immunotherapy turns the tables on cancer and uses the body's own cells and other drugs to attack it. Sharif noted immunotherapy makes the cancer fighting cells unrecognizable, which is what makes it successful.

"So what immunotherapy drugs do is it helps release the brakes off of the patient's immune system that the cancer has placed," Sharif outlined. "Preventing it to recognize cancer as abnormal, and this unleashes the patient's own immune system against the cancer to fight the cancer cells and kill them."

The trial will start with 25 patients. Sharif added they will grow the study depending on how many patients' tumors respond well to the treatment.

This March marks the 50th anniversary of National Nutrition Month.

Making sure children eat healthy can be tricky.

Chuck Larimer, an elementary school physical education teacher in Stayton, southeast of Salem, said his school has been part of the American Heart Association's Kids Heart Challenge for 23 years.

He observed students look forward to the program, but it's not just about getting active.

"There's more to it than just exercise, which is also important," Larimer explained. "It's that whole body wellness that's more of a focus"

The Kids Heart Challenge has been going on for nearly 45 years in elementary, middle and high schools across the country.

The American Heart Association said a few tips for parents can help introduce healthy foods to kids, even if they're picky eaters. Parents should include at least one item in meals everyone at the table likes. The group urged parents to shop and cook with their kids, and not get discouraged.

"I know at least with my boys' experience that taste buds do change and things that taste weird, or they might not like early on," Larimer noted. "That can change. And just try to continue to introduce different items."

Research has shown it can take at least 11 tries for a child to decide they like a new food, according to the American Heart Association. It also advised parents to offer fruits and vegetables when it is snack time to get them used to it.