While Washington debates cutting spending on the poor, Black babies in southern red states are dying at rates far higher than white babies.
The morning news includes the report that House Speaker McCarthy and President Biden still have not reached an agreement on the debt limit.
Apparently the MAGA Speaker McCarthy wants spending cuts to programs that go to the poor.
Reversing the tax cuts for the rich doesn’t appear to be on the agenda.
Biden began the talks by saying any discussion of spending cuts should have nothing to do with raising the debt limit.
I fear that these continued talk will lead to some compromise by Biden and the Democrats. Otherwise what is there to talk about?
A report from Kaiser Health News paints a vivid picture of what cuts to the poor means in real world terms.
In Red Southern states, Black babies are dying at rates many times higher than white babies.
By 2030, the federal government wants infant mortality to fall to 5 or fewer deaths per 1,000 live births. According to annual data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 states have already met or surpassed that goal, including Nevada, New York, and California. But none of those states are in the South, where infant mortality is by far the highest in the country, with Mississippi’s rate of 8.12 deaths per 1,000 live births ranking worst.
Another way to look at this:
A new study published in JAMA found that over two decades Black people in the U.S. experienced more than 1.6 million excess deaths and 80 million years of life lost because of increased mortality risk relative to white Americans. The study also found that infants and older Black Americans bear the brunt of excess deaths and years lost.
KHN reports:
Some experts believe expanding Medicaid coverage to single, working adults who aren’t pregnant and don’t have children — something most Southern states have failed to do — would also help curtail infant deaths. A woman who is healthy when heading into pregnancy is more likely to give birth to a healthy baby because the health of the mother correlates to the health of the infant. But many women don’t qualify for Medicaid coverage until they become pregnant.
Even when they become pregnant and are newly eligible for Medicaid, it isn’t unusual for women in South Carolina to put off seeing a doctor until the third trimester, physicians told KFF Health News. These women can’t afford to take time off work, can’t find child care, or don’t have a car, among other reasons.
Meanwhile, in Washington the talks grind on.