Articles by Amanda Merck

2 States Are Expanding Medicaid amid COVID-19 Surge

August 10, 2020

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As of June 2020, 14 U.S. states continued to reject Medicaid expansion, leaving many without an affordable healthcare coverage option. Then COVID-19 hit—hardest among low-income, uninsured families, particularly Latinos. In response to surging coronavirus cases, Oklahoma (11.1% Latino), the state with the second-highest uninsured rates, voted to expand Medicaid on July 1, 2020. A month later on Aug. 4, Missouri (4.4% Latino) also voted to expand Medicaid. In these two states alone, roughly 430,000 low-income adults will be eligible for Medicaid. “The American Heart Association supports expanding Medicaid because people living with low incomes are disproportionately affected by heart disease, hypertension, and stroke. Medicaid serves as the coverage backbone for the ...

A National Museum of the American Latino is Closer Than Ever

August 5, 2020

On July 27, 2020, the U.S. House unanimously approved a bill authorizing the Smithsonian Institution to build a National American Latino Museum. Introduced by New York Representative José Serrano and co-sponsored by 295 democrats and republicans, the museum will join 11 other Smithsonian museums along the National Mall in Washington D.C., such as the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of the American Indian. A companion bill for the Latino museum was introduced in the Senate in May 2019. “Spanish was the first non-native language to be spoken in the United States,” said Texas Democratic Rep. and chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Joaquin Castro, according to The Texan. “Latinos have fought in every U.S. war. Food and ...

3 New Ways to Fix Our Failed Approach to Speed Limits

July 29, 2020

American cities are failing at traffic safety—largely due to unsafe speeds. Urban arterials—roads that link major activity centers and highways—accounted for 29% of all U.S. fatal crashes between 2014 and 2018, despite making up only 6% of roadways. That’s why the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) developed City Limits, a framework for setting safe speed limits for city streets and providing strategies to manage speed. “Most speeds limits are set using an oversimplified and outdated method: measure 100 drivers traveling without any traffic and set the speed limit based on the 15th-fastest driver,” said Jenny O’Connell, NACTO Program Manager, according to a NACTO press release. “If this sounds like a system that would create ...

Without Safeguards, SNAP Online Food Purchases Could Threaten Participants’ Privacy, Undermine their Health

July 23, 2020

Before COVID-19, families with SNAP federal food aid could not use their electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards to buy groceries online. They had to go to into stores and risk infection. The good news is 37 states now have a SNAP online food purchasing programs. The bad news is that those online purchasing programs could “expose [SNAP] participants to increased data collection and surveillance, a flood of intrusive and manipulative online marketing techniques, and pervasive promotion of unhealthy foods,” according to the Center for Digital Democracy. The Center’s new report explains how federal and state policies fail to protect consumers against unhealthy food marketing, threatening the health of SNAP families. The report also recommends regulatory safeguards, industry ...

Cities Need to Drastically Scale Up Contact Tracing to Slow Coronavirus Spread

July 15, 2020

For months now, health leaders have asked Americans to flatten the COVID-19 curve by behaving as if they have been exposed─stay home, stop hanging out with friends and family, avoid public places like gyms and bars, and wear a mask when around others. This individual behavior is needed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. But, at the same time, public health departments must do their part, too. They are responsible for “contact tracing”─contacting people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and those in close contact with them to give them critical information to slow disease spread: understand the possibility that they could spread the infection to others even if they themselves do not feel ill; understand what they should do to monitor themselves for ...

#SaludTues Tweetchat 7/21: Why Transit Needs to be Included in COVID-19 Recovery Plans

July 15, 2020

#SaludTues Why Transit Needs to Be Included in COVID-19 Recovery Plans

Millions of frontline workers continue to commute through the COVID-19 crisis and millions more will start back as businesses reopen. An estimated 2.8 million American workers in essential industries commute to work on transit. However, amid the economic fallout of COVID-19, many transit agencies have or anticipate having to cut service, which could hurt low-income and Latino communities who rely most on public transportation and don’t have the option to work from home, particularly in cities where transit is already infrequent and unreliable. Cuts to transit service could also hurt the millions of families who have lost jobs or lost hours and are considering selling a vehicle to save money. As local, state, and federal leaders discuss recovery plans, they need to consider ...

Why You Should Answer Calls from Your Health Department about COVID-19

July 13, 2020

Have you or someone close to you tested positive for COVID-19? You should have gotten a phone call from a local public health worker─a “case investigator” or “contact tracer”─who would give guidance on monitoring symptoms, quarantining to prevent spread, and more. But some cities don’t have enough people to make these important calls. Also, some people don’t answer or return phone calls from unknown numbers and may be uncomfortable answering questions. That is why, to reduce the spread of COVID-19, cities must invest in extensive contact tracing efforts and encourage the public to answer or return phone calls from the health department. “Case investigation and contact tracing, a core disease control measure employed by local and state health department ...

Does Your State Support Walking, Biking, and Physical Activity?

July 9, 2020

Walking and biking are critical transportation options for physical and mental health. More importantly, they are essential to get to destinations, particularly Latinos during the coronavirus pandemic — including those who are simultaneously less likely to work from home than their white peers and more likely to be impacted by job loss. When the pandemic began, the portion of auto loan accounts in financial hardship jumped from 0.64% in March to 3.54% in April, according to TransUnion. Financial hardship status is defined by factors incliuding: A deferred payment or frozen past-due payment because a person is unable to keep up with payments due to a change in financial circumstances, such as loss of a job Significant cut in hours or pay Medical illness To recover and ...

San Antonio Job Opportunity: Help with Contact Tracing to Slow COVID-19

July 6, 2020

Are you concerned about the spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in San Antonio? The UTHealth School of Public Health in San Antonio is recruiting workers on behalf of Metro Health to become Case Investigators and Contact Tracers. Case Investigators/Contact Tracers will be responsible for connecting with COVID-19 patients, as well as locating and counseling individuals those patients may have come into contact with during the course of their infection. Identifying, quarantining, and testing people exposed to a known COVID-19 patient helps end the chain of disease transmission. Apply now and share this opportunity with friends and family. You can also learn more about how COVID-19 impacts Latinos. Data Collector: Case Investigator Position Summary: This position ...

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Amanda Merck

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