Nation in Brief

Aging immigrants lack health coverage

Better access to health coverage will be key to caring for a growing population of aging immigrants, many of whom are ineligible for Medicare and Medicaid, finds new research.

Published in July in Health Affairs, the study examined trends in immigrant health and health care after the Great Recession of the late 2000s and after implementation of the Affordable Care Act. They found that health care inequities among immigrants and U.S.-born residents increased after the recession and later declined post-ACA. They also found that “unremitting inequities” persist, especially for U.S. immigrants who are not citizens.

“Access to affordable health insurance would help protect immigrant household incomes and encourage optimal access to and use of health,” said study co-author Arturo Vargas Bustamante, PhD, MA, MPP, a professor at the University of California-Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health, in a news release. “And, ultimately, this would provide far more cost-effective, and efficient, health care and would use what funds are available in a far less costly way.”

Supervising swimmers can help prevent some of the thousands of drownings in the U.S.

Photo courtesy SeventyFour, iStockphoto

Disparities persist in US drowning rates

U.S. drowning deaths are down overall, but significant racial and ethnic disparities remain, according to a new study.

Based on data from the National Vital Statistics System, researchers found that between 1999 and 2019, about 34,300 people ages 29 and younger died from drowning, with overall drowning death rates declining from 1.5 to 1.2 people per 100,000 population.

Compared to whites, the drowning death rate was two times higher among American Indian and Alaska Native people and one-and-a-half times higher among Black people. Disparities between Black and white people increased from 2005 to 2019, said the study, published June 18 in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Study authors noted that proven prevention strategies include installing barriers to stop unintended access to water, teaching basic swimming and water safety skills, actively supervising swimmers, and expanding knowledge of CPR.

Deaths drop from common cancers

U.S. cancer death rates continue to go down among both men and women and across racial and ethnic groups, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer.

Published in July in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the report found that death rates decreased for 11 of the 19 most common cancers among men and for 14 of the 20 most common cancers among women. Death rates increased for five cancers for both men and women, including brain and pancreatic cancer.

From 2014 to 2018, declines in deaths rates accelerated for lung cancer and melanoma, but slowed for other types, including prostate, colorectal and breast cancers.

Deaths rates went up for some cancers too, including brain, pancreatic and uterine cancers, according to the report, which is created by the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society and other partners.

For more information, visit https://seer.cancer.gov.