A round-up of public health news from around the nation
Lead In Kids' Blood Spurs State Of Emergency In Flint, Michigan
After tests showed that the number of children with above-average blood lead levels doubled during the 18 months the city took it's water supply from a local river, the city switched back to Detroit water in October. But now Flint's new mayor is calling for federal help with things like special education and mental health services - because of lead's permanent effects on children. The Washington Post reports.
Two Tickets And A Flu Shot, Please
What if you could get a check-up before catching the train to work? As poverty's spread to north St. Louis suburbs like Ferguson in recent years, health services have not appeared to meet the demand. Now the transit system there is looking into putting clinics at light rail stops, as St. Louis Public Radio reports.
Advocates File Civil Rights Complaint Against California Medicaid
A man with cerebral palsy who waited 18 months to see a neurologist is one of millions of patients advocates claim have suffered from Medi-Cal's falling reimbursement rates.California's Medicaid program serves about a third of the state's population, and the majority of enrollees are Latinos. Kaiser Health News has more.
Egypt Gets A Much, Much Lower Price On Hep C Meds
Here in the U.S., the popular hepatitis C drug Sovaldi famously retails at $1,000 a pill. But the manufacturer is selling Sovaldi to the Egyptian government at 1% of the price. That's right: 10 bucks a pill. And the government is giving it to patients for free. The New York Times has the story.
