Dually Noted from around the web

Articles, commentary, research, and more from the past week

Advocates respond to Baker’s MassHealth plans
Advocacy groups representing MassHealth members are pushing back on MA Governor Charlie Baker’s plans to change the program.  As reported last week in Dually Noted, Baker proposed $168 million in spending reductions for MassHealth to address the state’s budget shortfall. In a letter to Baker, the groups said “There need to be checks and balances to ensure that the mission of MassHealth to care for people in the least-restrictive setting is not transformed – that homelessness and institutionalization are not increased.”

“Millennial” caregivers
We don’t often think of those in their 20s and 30s (“millennials”) as caregivers, but circumstances can lead any son or daughter to become involved in the care of a loved one. In a New York Times essay, a 28-year-old woman describes her experience caring for her 63-year-old mother after she had been diagnosed with cancer. She describes the adjustments she’s made in her life and how she turns to “online support groups and message boards for cancer patients and caregivers.”

Obama budget contains funding to fight prescription drug abuse
As part of his 2016 budget, President Obama has called more than $100 million in new investments for the Department of Health and Human Services to address the prescription opioids and heroin crisis. Funds would be spent on drug monitoring programs, improved treatment for addicts, and efforts to make naloxone available to first responders.