For almost 60 years, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) have played a key role in providing medically underserved populations and areas with affordable and quality care, regardless of a person’s ability to pay.

Now these nonprofit community health centers are on the front line as states work through a three-year backlog of Medicaid eligibility determinations—a process that was put on hold during the Covid-19 pandemic after the federal government offered states higher reimbursements in exchange for keeping recipients enrolled in Medicaid programs.

As many as 17 million people could lose Medicaid coverage due to ineligibility or other renewal barriers during the unwinding period, which began April 1, according to KFF estimates. At least 5.4 million people have lost Medicaid coverage as of August 23, according to data from 45 states and Washington, DC, KFF reported.

With FQHCs caring for an estimated one in six Medicaid recipients, community health centers across the US have beefed up their efforts to help patients through the transition and brace for any potential fallout. About 86.8 million people were enrolled in Medicaid nationwide as of the end of May, according to federal estimates.

Keep reading here.—SY

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Shannon at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Shannon for her number on Signal.

From HAL to Skynet, AI gets a bad rap. With its fast rise, buzzy headlines, and seemingly limitless potential, it’s hard to know if AI will help us or upend us. A pressing question on many employees’ minds: Will AI take my job?

MIT researchers offer a picture of the future of AI in the workplace. Read Tech Brew’s explanation of what artificial intelligence is capable of, what its probable use cases are, and the implications for your job. Hint: Predictions might be more complex and hopeful than you might expect. Read or listen here.

File under Not Surprising: Medicaid-eligible adults who lack health coverage are more likely than their insured counterparts to have worse health outcomes and face challenges when it comes to accessing care. That’s the major takeaway from an Urban Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation analysis released on August 29.

The study compared adults who are eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled in the public health insurance to Medicaid recipients and low-income individuals with private health insurance. The analysis found that unenrolled, Medicaid-eligible individuals were less likely to utilize healthcare services, more likely to delay care due to costs, and face higher out-of-pocket expenses when they did access care.

The study’s authors contended that the results “underscore that having health insurance promotes health and financial well-being.”

Keep reading here.—SY

The New York City Council is considering legislation that proponents say will help more New York residents understand their risk for sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder that has been historically overlooked.

The City Council is expected to vote today on the bill, which aims to educate healthcare professionals on sickle cell disease detection and management, as well as understand the medical discrimination sickle cell patients have experienced and how it affects care.

“There is no cure for sickle cell right now, but the diseases and symptoms can be managed with proper care and lifestyle,” Mercedes Narcisse, council member and bill sponsor, said at a stated meeting when the bill was introduced in March. “This program will inform New Yorkers of their healthcare options and increase awareness. I believe it would be critical [to encourage] all New Yorkers, especially the health field, to talk about sickle cell disease and get prevention care.”

The bill would require the New York City health department, in consultation with New York City Health + Hospitals, to develop a sickle cell education program for healthcare professionals working in the city alongside a free genetic screening program for at-risk patients who want to conceive and test for the sickle cell trait.

Keep reading here.—KW

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Kristine at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Kristine for her number on Signal.

Today’s top healthcare reads.

Stat: A record 111,000+ people in the US died from a drug overdose between April 2022 and April 2023, according to CDC data. (CNN)

Quote: “The onus is on City Council to do the right thing for Philadelphia. Today’s effort is not the right thing for Philadelphia.”—Ronda Goldfein, VP of harm reduction nonprofit Safehouse, on the council’s recent vote barring supervised consumption sites in most of Philadelphia (the Philadelphia Inquirer)

Read: Keisha Ray, an associate professor of bioethics at the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, is fighting racism in healthcare and biases that can result in worse outcomes for Black patients. (Texas Monthly)