President Trump’s executive order directing agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Health and Human Services, to propose policy changes that cut people off of federal assistance programs will harm the health and well-being of our nation’s youngest citizens and their families. This proposal is […]
WALTHAM – Dr. Megan T. Sandel from Boston Medical Center has been honored by the Massachusetts Medical Society as the recipient of its annual Reducing Health Disparities Award, an honor recognizing an individual who has made outstanding contributions to reducing health disparities due to race, socioeconomic status, age, education, or sexual orientation. Sandel has spent […]
In Virginia, one pediatrician tweaked electronic health record billing codes so Medicaid and private insurers are paying for patients’ trips to food banks. In California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Vermont, variant comprehensive models of getting payers involved in setting standards for dealing with food insecurity are underway or already up and running. But the mounting push […]
David Erickson of the San Francisco Federal Reserve has set out a vision that the housing world should pay attention to: a marketplace that values health. Our current “investments” in health are not working. Despite spending more per person on health services than other nations, the U.S. continues to have worse health outcomes. This seemingly paradoxical […]
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is our nation’s first line of defense against hunger and food insecurity. A strong SNAP in the Farm Bill is necessary for optimal child and family health. However, based on research from Children’s HealthWatch and from others, the proposed changes-specifically changes to Broad Based Categorical Eligibility, Heat and Eat, […]
Originally posted on Opportunity Starts at Home As a doctor, I know that a stable, affordable home is a prescription for good health. This was recently instilled by my work at the GROW Clinic at Boston Medical Center, which takes care of kids underweight for their age. One of my patients at age 2 was […]
It’s hard to put a price tag on hunger, but a new report does just that: $2.4 billion. In 2016, that was the cost in Massachusetts alone for additional healthcare, special education, and lost work time related to food insecurity. This validates what I see regularly as a pediatrician. I’m a street doctor in Austin […]
Re: Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Requirements and Services for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents RIN 0584–AE57 Dear Ms. Gersten-Paal: Thank you for the opportunity to comment on USDA’s Advanced Notice on requirements and services for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs). On behalf of Children’s HealthWatch please accept these comments and our […]
A conservative $2.4 billion per year would be saved in treating medical issues that are linked to food insecurity. Improving food security among Massachusetts residents would reduce healthcare costs for individuals, families, and the Commonwealth. For more information on the cost of food insecurity and hunger in Massachusetts, please visit MAcostofhunger.org.
With the understanding that housing means more than shelter, a wide-ranging group of organizations have joined together on a national multi-sector housing campaign. Opportunity Starts at Home launched this week at the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC’s) Housing Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. With financial support from the Funders for Housing and Opportunity, NLIHC launched this […]