Michigan's Uninsured Women and Healthcare

Here is my part of the journalism assignmnet from the previous post.


Cancer Screenings and Birth Control
One program designed to provide uninsured women breast and cervical cancer screenings is running out of funds in Michigan. This year the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program has served 25,000 women in Michigan and is expected to server fewer women next year reports, the Detroit Free Press.

Despite the funding cuts for the cancer screening programs the state has created a new plan to extend family planning services to 200,000 uninsured women ages 19-44. This new plan will use money taken from the Medicaid program and provide birth control, pre-natal, and post-natal counseling services.

Women and Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women. “Cigarette smokers are two-to-three times more likely to die from coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.” according to the American Heart Association. The AHA also says, “Women who smoke have a higher risk of coronary heart disease compared to nonsmoking women.” The Connecticut Women’s Health Campaign reported that uninsured women are more likely to contract some form of heart disease than their counterparts.

WISEWOMAN is a program funded through the Center for Disease Control and works in conjunction with NBCCDEP. In the Upper Peninsula’s Delta and Menominee counties the average yearly income is $18,000 and 25% of the women smoke. WISEWOMAN is partnering with local Community Tobacco Reduction Coalition in these two counties to apply for funding through the March of Dimes in an effort to help these women quit smoking and reduce secondhand smoke. A successful program could lead to a reduction of heart disease among the women of these two counties.

Women and Diabetes
The CDC recently published a report concerning women of all life stages and diabetes. They found that women with type 2 diabetes have fewer years of education, lower incomes, and are less likely than women without diabetes to be employed. This means that these women are less likely to have health insurance.

Without proper treatment diabetes can have serious consequences. The worst is heart disease. Diabetes is the leading cause of death among middle-aged women with coronary heart disease being an important cause of illness. Women aged 45-64 with diabetes are 3-7 times more likely to develop heart disease than women without diabetes, reports the CDC.

“People with pre-diabetes can prevent the development of type 2 diabetes by making changes in their diet and increasing their level of physical activity. They may even be able to return their blood glucose levels to the normal range”, says the American Diabetes Association.