Leah Chan

Leah Chan

@cleahchan.bsky.social

Director of Health Justice @GaBudget. All views are my own. https://gbpi.org/georgias-state-and-local-public-health-system-supports-healthy-communities-and-a-strong-economy/

64 Followers 119 Following 7 Posts Joined Jan 2025
6 days ago
YouTube
He Promised His Mother He’d Keep the Family Healthy. In Albany, Georgia, That’s Not Easy. YouTube video by ProPublica

WATCH: “Keep the family healthy.” Those were some of the last words Clifford Thomas’ mother said to him.

But in Albany, a town with a health care monopoly and no Medicaid expansion, staying healthy is a luxury that many are priced out of.

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1 month ago
Senior Analyst of Economic Security or Director of Economic Security - Georgia Budget and Policy Institute Table of Contents show About GBPI Position Overview Scope of work Must Have Qualifications: Nice to Have Qualifications: Details: About GBPI The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) strives to c...

GBPI is hiring a Senior Analyst or Director to work in our Economic Security Portfolio. Find out more: gbpi.org/senior-analy...

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1 month ago
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Georgia lawmakers consider first steps to streamline public health system A legislative committee has 5 proposals aimed at reconfiguring the state's public health structure. Increasing state funding isn't one of them.

www.healthbeat.org/atlanta/2026...

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1 month ago
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The One Metric That Could Reshape Health Progress Tracking the percentage of people dying before old age provides an honest accounting of a population's health.

The percentage of people dying before age 70 is an honest accounting of whether our health systems are working. For the United States, that number tells us we’re failing nearly one in four people.

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1 month ago
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When Suicidal Calls Come In, Who Answers? Georgia Crisis Line Response Rates Reveal Gaps - KFF Health News In Georgia, a high number of callers to the 988 crisis line hang up or disconnect before reaching a counselor. Many other calls are transferred out of state.

Since last year, more calls to Georgia’s 988 mental health crisis line have been rerouted out of state. Many callers hang up or disconnect before reaching a counselor.

They're not the only state struggling with disconnected or rerouted 988 calls.

@rgrapevine.bsky.social and Andy Miller report ⤵️

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2 months ago
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Georgia resident Tracy says that rising monthly health care costs would “most likely mean sacrificing essentials, groceries, gas, other basic necessities that I rely on.”

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2 months ago
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Community Catalyst Statement On DHS Proposed “Public Charge” Changes - Community Catalyst FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 19, 2025CONTACT: Jack Cardinal, jcardinal@communitycatalyst.org  “This proposal increases fear, worsens health outcomes,

The proposed public charge changes will increase fear, worsen health outcomes, and destabilize communities — impacts DHS itself has acknowledged.

We urge DHS to withdraw this proposal. Health care access should not come with fear. Read our full statement here >> https://pulse.ly/w0uqd8ree0

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2 months ago

CMS is saying they can do this because this care is not "healthcare" and thus they aren't regulating practice of medicine... seems like a slippery slope? what stops them from next saying abortion isn't healthcare?

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3 months ago
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Tracy, 57, from GA, received this notice showing her #ACA marketplace premium rising from $82 to $1,616/month if premium tax credit enhancements expire — nearly a $19k increase next year. For her, that means choosing between coverage and essentials.

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3 months ago

21 days stand between real people and devastating premium increases for the ACA marketplace coverage. People like Tracy are facing impossible choices. Congress still has time to pass a clean extension that would solve this problem.

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3 months ago

We actually just wrote a blog about this. Cash subsidies sound simple — but the impact is severe.

Younger, healthier people would flock to low-quality “junk” plans or drop coverage altogether.

Who’s left? Older & sicker people, skyrocketing premiums, and a real threat to the ACA.

Read more👇

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3 months ago
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Sick in a Hospital Town: As Phoebe Memorial Grew, the Health of Albany, Georgia, Declined The five-part series, “Sick in a Hospital Town,” pursues one question: Why are people in Albany so sick when its most powerful institution is a hospital?

Welcome to Albany, Georgia, where one hospital dominates the political and economic landscape.

The story of Phoebe Putney Memorial is the story of American health care.

By @gingerthompson.bsky.social, with research by Doris Burke

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3 months ago
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The decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to downgrade its recommendations to protect infants from hepatitis B is a dangerous move that will harm children.

Click here to read AAP's full statement: bit.ly/3Y9ZQJT

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3 months ago
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Grim new analysis from KFF: The administration's move to re-adopt the public charge rule could have a chilling effect that leads to several million people dropping Medicaid coverage — including tens of thousands of citizen children

www.kff.org/medicaid/pot...

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3 months ago
Graphic displays bold black text in a red box. It reads: "Sick in a Hospital Town: A Five Part Series." Background image: A white water tower and red brick buildings in Albany, Georgia.

On Dec. 7, we’re taking you to Albany, Georgia, and telling a story as we never have before.

In a new 5-part series, ProPublica’s @gingerthompson.bsky.social pursues one question: “Why are people in Albany so sick when its most powerful institution is a hospital?”

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3 months ago
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Today is World AIDS Day, a day to honor the lives of those affected by HIV. This year we're urging people to honor World AIDS Day by telling Congress to pass a funding bill which ensures access to critical and affordable HIV care. TAKE ACTION: bit.ly/GE_WAD

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3 months ago

Reports that the White House is working on a proposal to extend premium tax credit enhancements shows the Administration is acknowledging the urgent need to address premium spikes for millions of marketplace enrollees. But big questions remain.🧵

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3 months ago

People have to sign up for ACA marketplace coverage by December 15 to have health insurance January 1. Even if Congress passed an extension with tweaks to the premium tax credits, computer systems could not be reprogrammed immediately.

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3 months ago
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Losing $5.4 billion in federal supplemental payments for providers amounts to unsustainable pressure for our healthcare system and leaves the state to pick up the tab: bit.ly/4pljtKE

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3 months ago
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Congress’ Obamacare subsidy vote could set off state scramble The 20 state Affordable Care Act exchanges are prepared for a straightforward extension, but that appears doubtful.

An important pragmatic point as Trump, Dr. Oz, and others claim to want to reform the subsidy scheme for 2026: It's too late for that.

Insurers modeled premiums with and without enhanced subsidies; they *didn't* estimate rates accounting for some quarter-baked scheme to issue some subsidy as cash.

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4 months ago

welcome to bluesky. if the word "mapquest" means anything to you and/or you used it as a verb, you're in the right place

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4 months ago

In all the years I have worked in health policy GOP/conservative proposals always boil down to the same ideas: block grant/cap #Medicaid, Medicare premium support, unregulated individual health insurance markets and tax-favored accounts like Health Savings Accounts. So we’re back to HSAs this week.

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4 months ago
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The Medicaid Program That Saved Money, Turned People’s Health Around — and Got Killed The end of the Healthy Opportunities Pilot in North Carolina is a story of how MAHA might actually be realized — or not — at the state level.

The Medicaid Program That Saved Money, Turned People’s Health Around — and Got Killed - POLITICO www.politico.com/news/magazin...

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4 months ago
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#OpenEnrollment for 2026 marketplace plans started Nov 1 in most states. B/c Congressional Rs haven’t extended PTC enhancements, ppl are seeing higher costs as they review their options. If you’re in need of marketplace coverage, here are some key dates to keep in mind during this uncertain time:

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4 months ago
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How concerned are people about rising health insurance premiums? With premium tax credit enhancements about to expire and ACA marketplace open enrollment underway, search volumes for terms like “health premium increase” are (almost) off the charts.

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4 months ago

There are two different KFF numbers about the ACA out there. Both are accurate, but mean different things.

114%: The average increase in out-of-pocket premiums if enhanced tax credits expire.

26%: The average increase in what insurers are charging for benchmark ACA plans.

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4 months ago
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NEJM and public health group are launching rival to CDC’s MMWR publication Two institutions are coming together to create an alternative to the CDC’s vaunted Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

This is good news.

"The New England Journal of Medicine and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy will begin publishing “public health alerts” in the coming month, CIDRAP Director Michael Osterholm announced at the IDWeek conference on Sunday."

www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/c...

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4 months ago

When is the point of no return for extending ACA tax credits?

They expire 12/31, so that’s a drop dead date.

Open enrollment starts November 1. If they’re not extended by then, enrollees may start dropping out. Even if open enrollment is extended, people could be hard to reach.

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4 months ago

At @nationalacademies.org annual meeting. An award recipient (92 years old, born in Slovakia) just reminded us, in her acceptance speech,

“Science always survives - it even made it through Stalin.

Don’t let your curiosity be diminished.”

🌼🧪📈🩺

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4 months ago
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You can also see how costs could rise in your area using this calculator: calculator.americanscovered.org

Then, contact your Member of Congress and encourage them to keep healthcare affordable for Georgia families: secure.everyaction.com/UMfZvzKL9UC3...

#CareNotCuts

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