It’s legal to deny insurance on mental health grounds, but Belle wants that changed

In 2017, while taking the trip of a lifetime around Australia, Belle Grati was sexually assaulted. A couple of years later, she went to her long-time GP to ask for support. “I was feeling really, really low, and just couldn’t do it on my own anymore,” Belle told Hack. “So I sought out to get medication, to get a referral to talk to a professional and to go on a mental health plan.” Belle managed her anxiety and depression well until last year when her mother died, and she went back to counseling and using antidepressants. She’s doing much better…

Grady plans to open ER in Union City to fill gap in emergency care

ATLANTA – Grady Health System will be opening a freestanding emergency department in south Fulton County. The move is to increase emergency medical services in metro Atlanta following the closure of Wellstar’s Atlanta Medical Center South and Atlanta Medical Center in 2023. Grady Health System, which saw nearly 138,000 emergency visits last year at its main Atlanta campus, aims to address the service gap with this new 20,000-square-foot facility featuring 16 bays for adult and pediatric care, comprehensive diagnostic services, and an on- site helipad for critical patient transfers staffed by board-certified medical professionals. John Haupert, president and CEO of…

DeSantis signs Live Healthy bills meant to train, retain health-care workers – Orlando Sentinel

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a package of bills Thursday that supporters say will help improve access to health care, increase the number of doctors in Florida and address issues such as mental-health treatment. “What they (state leaders) are tackling right now are some of the biggest challenges that we face in the Sunshine State, and that’s access to health care in a reliable, reproducible, sustainable kind of way,” said Tampa General Hospital President and CEO John Couris, who took part in a bill-signing event in Bonita Springs. “There are critical shortages in the health care workforce. We’ve seen…

Sask. health officials hopeful budget boost will help with hospital overcrowding

Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) officials say they’re making progress on hospital crowding and waiting times, and that new money announced in Wednesday’s provincial budget will help even more. “Yesterday was a very exciting day for us,” said SHA CEO Andrew Will. Will and other SHA officials hosted a news conference Thursday morning at Saskatoon’s City Hospital.to discuss the $7.6 billion announced for health care in 2024-25. They say that money will help a lot. The budget includes half a billion dollars for hospital and care home construction in Prince Albert, Weyburn and other smaller centers. Will said it’s not just…

WHO calls on governments for urgent action to invest in Universal Health Coverage

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the 2023 global health expenditure report, which sheds new light on the evolution of global health spending at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Released ahead of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day, the report revealed that in 2021 global spending on health reached a new high of US$ 9.8 trillion or 10.3% of global gross domestic product (GDP). Nevertheless, the distribution of spending remains grossly unequal. Public spending on health has increased across the world, except in low-income countries where government health spending decreased and external health aid played an essential supporting role.…