美国国家公共电台 NPR--Medicaid's pandemic-related protections are ending and that's creating problems

Medicaid's pandemic-related protections are ending and that's creating problems

Transcript¹

Pandemic-related protections are ending for people on Medicaid, and they'll need to do a lot more paperwork to stay covered. Black churches in Indianapolis are trying to protect the most vulnerable.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The public health emergency for COVID is officially over, and that presents a massive challenge for Medicaid, which covers 1 in 5 Americans. Every single one of them will now have to be found and reenrolled or lose that insurance. And the clock is ticking. Reporter Farah Yousry explains that in Indianapolis, Black churches have jumped in to try and help the government quickly find the most vulnerable patients before they become uninsured.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Hello, hello, hello.

FARAH YOUSRY, BYLINE²: On a recent Saturday at Broadway Church near downtown Indianapolis, they put up a big inflatable castle for the kids. There were burgers and hot dogs and music.

SHONDA NICOLE GLADDEN: People are painting faces. We love to see it (laughter).

YOUSRY: That's Reverend Shonda Nicole Gladden. She stands out front with a microphone.

GLADDEN: You could be at risk of losing your benefits. We need you to come inside right now. Learn more about the crisis.

YOUSRY: If you were on Medicaid during the pandemic, you stayed on Medicaid. States stopped checking eligibility³ or requiring paperwork. But now those COVID-related protections have expired, and up to 24 million people nationwide could lose their health insurance. Some may lose Medicaid because they got a new job or a raise that makes them ineligible⁴. But millions could unintentionally get lost in the complicated Medicaid bureaucracy and lose their insurance even if they still qualify. Reverend Gladden worries many in the Black community may slip through the cracks if Indiana mails them paperwork that they never get.

GLADDEN: With COVID-19, you know, a lot of people were displaced, and a lot of things changed for people. But Medicaid doesn't have that information necessarily. So if they've moved and they have a new address, they won't get the notification.

YOUSRY: Broadway and three other local churches are working with the regional hospital system to get the word out.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: So either you're going to be automatically...

YOUSRY: All the action is down in the church's basement. That's where attorneys and Medicaid navigators have set up information tables. People could also get their blood pressure checked or even a COVID vaccine⁵. The idea is to meet people where they are, Gladden says.

GLADDEN: Sometimes, particularly in the Black community, it's a little taboo⁶ to talk about things like this. They're not coming up saying, I'm really stressed about this. But they will show up and just soak in the information.

YOUSRY: Ohioma Ndubuaku (ph) showed up at the church's basement later. She has several health problems and uses a walker because of her arthritis⁷.

OHIOMA NDUBUAKU: I have arthritis, diabetic, and I have some kidney problems.

YOUSRY: Medicaid helps cover many of her health bills, and she's terrified of losing it. She says Social Security just isn't enough to cover the day-to-day basics.

NDUBUAKU: With what Social Security is paying, it cannot pay for my loan, pay for my rent and pay for any other thing.

YOUSRY: An insurance broker⁸ tries to show Ndubuaku an online portal where she can check if the Medicaid agency has sent her any notices. But she says she does not have a computer and can barely navigate⁹ the internet on her phone. Her situation shows precisely¹⁰ why churches and clinics and food banks will all need to help people navigate this complicated process. That's according to David Craig, a professor at nearby Indiana University, who's helping¹¹ the churches do outreach.

DAVID CRAIG: We've got a five-alarm bell ringing, and it's going to be ringing a lot louder a year from now.

YOUSRY: A year from now is when nearly 400,000 people in Indiana alone are expected to lose their Medicaid coverage¹².

For NPR News, I'm Farah Yousry in Indianapolis.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

4 ineligible   

adj.无资格的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The new rules have made thousands more people ineligible for legal aid.新规定使另外数千人不符合接受法律援助的资格。
• The country had been declared ineligible for World Bank lending.这个国家已被宣布没有资格获得世界银行的贷款。

5 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

6 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

7 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

8 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

9 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

10 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。