In hopeful sign, health spending is flattening out, By Annie Lowrey, April 28, 2012, New York Times: “The growth of health spending has slowed substantially in the last few years, surprising experts and offering some fuel for optimism about the federal government’s long-term fiscal performance. Much of the slowdown is because of the recession, and thus not unexpected, health experts say. But some of it seems to be attributable to changing behavior by consumers and providers of health care – meaning that the lower rates of growth might persist even as the economy picks up. Because Medicare and Medicaid are two of the largest contributors to the country’s long-term debts, slower growth in health costs could reduce the pressure for enormous spending cuts or tax increases. In 2009 and 2010, total nationwide health care spending grew less than 4 percent per year, the slowest annual pace in more than five decades, according to the latest numbers from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. After years of taking up a growing share of economic activity, health spending held steady in 2010, at 17.9 percent of the gross domestic product…”
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Women, Infants, and Children Program
- Why are fewer moms applying for safety net program?, By Pamela M. Prah, April 30, 2012, Stateline: “More Americans are collecting food stamps than ever before, but fewer needy mothers are using another federal government program that offers free baby formula and food for young children. There isn’t one answer to explain the recent decline in the number of women and young children in the program, commonly known as WIC, which the government officially calls the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. It makes sense that more Americans are getting food stamps since that program, known formally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is open to people of all ages who need help recovering from the recession. WIC specifically serves pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants and children up to age 5, a much narrower demographic. Still, it’s puzzling that WIC would be shrinking in these hard times, rather than getting bigger…”
- Missoula health department says state’s WIC use lowest in U.S., By Keila Szpaller, April 28, 2012, The Missoulian: “The state of Montana has the lowest rate in the country – 30 percent – of serving children who qualify for federal help getting good nutrition, according to the Missoula City-County Health Department. ‘We suspect from our focus groups and from our experience with the program that the state has rules that are not federally required, and some of those rules are very difficult for the client at the checkstand, if not humiliating,’ said Ellen Leahy, director of the local health department. Leahy last week shared the news about the federal WIC program – Women, Infants and Children – with a committee of the Missoula City Council, and she said the local agency is ‘advocating and agitating’ to change burdensome state requirements…”
- Muskegon County WIC food assistance enrollment, use down, By Megan Hart, April 16, 2012, Muskegon Chronicle: “Fewer Muskegon County families are using nutritional assistance for women and young children, officials say – a trend they hope to reverse. Public Health Muskegon County maternal child services supervisor Gwen Williams said about 7,620 Muskegon County people were enrolled in the Special Supplement Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (better known as WIC) as of February. That’s down from a high of 7,821 people in 2011, she said, and many more families are eligible…”
Charlotte Observer Series on Nonprofit Hospitals
Prognosis: Profits, Series homepage (Five-part series), Charlotte Observer:
- Nonprofit hospitals thrive on profits, By Ames Alexander, Karen Garloch and Joseph Neff, April 21, 2012, Charlotte Observer: “Nonprofit hospitals in the Charlotte region are respected community institutions. They save lives, heal the sick and provide good jobs. At the same time, most of them are stockpiling a fortune. Their profits have risen along with their prices. Top executives are paid millions as their hospitals expand, buy expensive technology and build aggressively. And they benefit each year from a perk worth millions: They pay no income, property or sales taxes. These institutions were created with charitable missions. But many don’t act like nonprofits anymore. In their quest for growth and financial strength, they have contributed to the rising cost of health care, leaving thousands of patients with bills they struggle to pay…”
- Most N.C. hospitals are slim on charity care, By Ames Alexander, Joseph Neff and Karen Garloch, April 22, 2012, Charlotte Observer: “Rachael Shehan has no health insurance and virtually no income. But when serious respiratory problems strike, her hospital has never provided financial help, she said. Instead, the 39-year-old Lenoir resident says, Caldwell Memorial Hospital has sent bill collectors who have hounded her for payment and ruined her credit. Now, she sometimes bursts into tears when medical problems arise. ‘I know the hospital isn’t going to help me with my bills,’says Shehan, who relies on food stamps and the help of friends. Nonprofit hospitals such as Caldwell Memorial are exempt from property, sales and income taxes. In return, they are expected to give back to their communities, largely by providing care to those who can’t afford it. Like Caldwell, most North Carolina hospitals are devoting a fraction of their expenses to help the poor and uninsured, an investigation by the Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer of Raleigh found. In 2010, most of the state’s hospitals spent less than 3 percent of their budgets on charity care – the practice of forgiving all or part of a patient’s bill…”
Medicaid Expansion – Colorado
Colorado extends Medicaid to some adults without kids, By Eric Whitney, April 26, 2012, Minnesota Public Radio: “Dale Miller spends his days on the streets of downtown Denver selling a newspaper called The Homeless Voice. He’s been having some health problems, but he can’t afford to see a doctor on the $10 to $15 a day he makes selling papers. A local charity clinic called the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless recently helped him get a CT scan at no cost to him. Miller fully understands, though, that someone has to pay for his care. ‘The state’s paying for that, ya dig? I mean, it’s not free,’ says Miller. ‘I’ve got my itemized bill in my backpack for my last Thursday’s visit, and it was like $450 for the doctor, $1,100 for the lab work, and the state’s paying for that.’ The state’s actually only paying for a small part of those bills. Colorado has an indigent care program that helps charity clinics and hospitals cover bills like Miller’s. But it only pays about 10 cents on the dollar. That’s starting to change as Colorado is adding people to its rolls for Medicaid, the state and federal health program for the poor and disabled…”
Wisconsin Poverty Report
UW report says safety net kept state families from poverty, By Todd Finkelmeyer, April 27, 2012, Capital Times: “Wisconsin is doing a good job of providing a safety net for the state’s most vulnerable people, according to the fourth annual Wisconsin Poverty Report released this week. The study, conducted by UW-Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty, is designed to measure poverty rates more accurately than the official federal numbers that are compiled using only pretax cash income figures. In addition to these cash resources, the institute’s Wisconsin Poverty Measure also takes into account the effects of government safety net initiatives such as tax credits (including the state and federal earned income tax credit), food stamps, BadgerCare and subsidized child care. In 2010, the most recent year for which figures are available, Wisconsin’s official overall poverty rate as measured at the federal level was at 13 percent, while the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) pinned that figure at 10.3 percent. And the gap is even wider when looking at children — with official numbers indicating an 18.6 percent child poverty rate in the state compared to a Wisconsin Poverty Measure of 10.8 percent…”
Unemployment Rate – Spain
Spain’s economic crisis deepens as unemployment hits 24.4%, By Pan Pylas (AP), April 27, 2012, USA Today: “The hole in Spain’s economy is getting deeper. The government reported Friday that unemployment rose to 24.4% in the first quarter – compared with 22.9% in the fourth quarter – and that more than half of Spaniards under 25 are now without jobs. The bleak employment came one day after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded the country’s debt. The Spanish economy is in recession for the second time in three years as the damage from a housing bust persists. Foreclosures are rising, Spain’s banks are in worse financial shape and the government’s deficit is hitting worrisome levels. The first-quarter employment data showed that 365,900 people lost their jobs, bringing the number of unemployed Spaniards to 5.6 million. The unemployment rate for people under 25 climbed to 52%, up from 48.5% in the previous quarter…”
Poverty Measurement in the US
Poverty in America: Defining the new poor, April 22, 2012, National Public Radio: “Welfare changes in the 1990s helped slash cash benefit rolls, yet the use of food stamps is soaring today. About 15 percent of Americans use food stamps. The program has become what some call the new welfare. A big reason why is a deal struck between President Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress in 1996. At that time, the number of Americans who received cash payments – what’s often thought of as welfare – was at an all-time high. The Clinton overhaul made it much harder to qualify for those payments, and today the welfare rolls are down 70 percent, but that’s only if you define welfare in one way. ‘We decided cash assistance is welfare and that’s bad, but we decided food aid is nutritional assistance and that’s good,’ says New York Times reporter Jason DeParle. ‘We made [the food stamp] program much easier to get on.’ DeParle, who covers poverty for the Times, tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz that 18 million Americans have had to apply for food aid since the economic crisis began…”
Infant Mortality Rates – Milwaukee, WI
Disparity in infant mortality rates in Milwaukee widens, By Crocker Stephenson and Karen Herzog, April 24, 2012, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Milwaukee’s infant mortality rate dropped to a historic low in 2011. But the rate at which black babies died during their first year of life ticked upward, to nearly three times the rate of white babies. ‘We’re pleased with the overall numbers,’ Mayor Tom Barrett said Tuesday. ‘But we have to put more emphasis on the African-American rate.’ In November, Barrett and Commissioner of Health Bevan Baker set a goal to reduce Milwaukee’s black infant mortality rate by 15% and the city’s overall rate by 10% by 2017. ‘We are on track to meet those goals,’ said Geoff Swain, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and chief medical officer for the Milwaukee Health Department…”
Low-Income Earners and Banking
Chasing fees, banks court low-income customers, By Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Ben Protess, April 25, 2012, New York Times: “When David Wegner went looking for a checking account in January, he was peppered with offers for low-end financial products, including a prepaid debit card with numerous fees, a short-term emergency loan with steep charges, money wire services and check-cashing options. ‘I may as well have gone to a payday lender,’ said Mr. Wegner, a 36-year-old nursing assistant in Minneapolis, who ended up choosing a local branch of U.S. Bank and avoided the payday lenders, pawnshops and check cashers lining his neighborhood. Along with a checking account, he selected a $1,000 short-term loan to help pay for his cystic fibrosis medications. The loan cost him $100 in fees, and that will escalate if it goes unpaid. An increasing number of the nation’s large banks – U.S. Bank, Regions Financial and Wells Fargo among them – are aggressively courting low-income customers like Mr. Wegner with alternative products that can carry high fees…”
Wisconsin Poverty Report
State poverty drops in recession, study finds, By Meg Jones, April 25, 2012, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Poverty in Wisconsin actually dropped during the recession and its aftermath, surprising University of Wisconsin researchers who credit safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits. From 2009 to 2010, state poverty dropped from 11.1% to 10.3%, according to a study by the Wisconsin Poverty Project that will be released Wednesday. The statistics compiled by the Institute for Research on Poverty differ from U.S. census figures, which show poverty increased in Wisconsin during that time. However, the official poverty measure only considers pretax cash income, and Wisconsin Poverty Project researchers included other means used by federal and local governments to stimulate the economy…”
College Financial Aid
Student loans: Will Congress’s remedy favor middle class over poor?, By Mark Trumbull, April 25, 2012, Christian Science Monitor: “The surging student loan burden has the attention of President Obama and Congress. A jaw-dropping fact has become widely publicized: that student debt for the first time totals more than $1 trillion, well over the amount Americans owe on credit cards. But even as politicians consider fixes – especially how to avert an interest-rate hike affecting students come July 1 – the grant-style aid that’s most important to lower-income students is already experiencing a budget squeeze…”
Job Losses and Unemployment – Wisconsin
- State posts largest percentage job loss in U.S. over past year, By Craig Gilbert, April 24, 2012, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Wisconsin is the only state in the nation that had “statistically significant” job losses over the past 12 months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state lost 23,900 jobs from March 2011 to March 2012. The majority – 17,800 – were government jobs. But Wisconsin also lost more private-sector jobs – 6,100 – than any other state over those same 12 months, the government data shows…”
- Wisconsin job losses highest in nation for last 12 months, federal report says, By Karen Rivedal, April 25, 2012, Wisconsin State Journal: “Wisconsin saw the largest percentage decrease in employment in the nation during the 12 months ending in March, a new report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said. During that time period, while 27 states and the District of Columbia saw significant job increases, only Wisconsin saw ‘statistically significant’ job losses, the report said. From March 2011 to March 2012, the state lost 23,900 jobs, for the country’s largest percentage decrease, at 0.9 percent. Of the 23,900 jobs lost in Wisconsin in that period, 17,900 were from the public sector and 6,000 were from the private sector, according to the BLS…”
Child Welfare and Foster Care – Oregon, Washington DC
- New child welfare audit says Oregon can do more to reunite parents and kids in foster care, By Michelle Cole, April 24, 2012, The Oregonian: “While Oregon child welfare caseworkers do better than the national average in seeing that children taken into state foster care are returned to their parents, a new audit also finds caseworkers often do not include parents in critical discussions concerning their families and have little time to ensure meaningful visits between parents and kids. Overall, the 28-page report portrays a system under stress. Overworked child welfare staff do not get much help from the central office in prioritizing their work. Parents were unable to get addiction treatment, mental health care or other services they needed before they could bring their kids back home…”
- If fewer kids are in D.C. foster care, why isn’t agency’s budget decreasing?, By Justin Moyer, April 24, 2012, Washington Post: “The number of children in the District’s child welfare system is continuing to drop, prompting officials to take a fresh look at how the city spends its $265 million child welfare budget. Across the region and across the country, social service agencies are seeing such declines, though the implications are especially significant for the District, which has a long history of child welfare crises. No single factor explains the drop in the District, but experts believe that the city’s changing demographics and renewed emphasis on keeping troubled families together are driving the trend. According to the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA), the number of children it supervises has fallen to 3,400 from 4,654 in early 2009, a change of almost 30 percent…”
Columbia Daily Tribune Series on Poverty
The Price of Poverty: An occasional series on poverty in Boone County, Series homepage, Columbia Daily Tribune:
- Lunch program gives some a hand up, By Catherine Martin, April 23, 2012, Columbia Daily Tribune: “When Dewanna Miller got sick after having surgery in 2009, things got rough for her and her three children. She was in the hospital for three months and was unable to work until January of this year, when she returned to work at Macy’s. There were a lot of challenges and frustration, she said, and without support from her family and the public school system, Miller said she doesn’t know whether she could have pulled through…”
- Spending grows, shifts in fight on poverty, with mixed results, By Jodie Jackson Jr., Columbia Daily Tribune: “As spending increases for programs aimed at battling poverty in Boone County, reaching an estimated $300 million in 2010, the number of residents in poverty also continues to climb. The struggle to stem that tide has social service leaders looking to tackle the problem at its roots, with a focus on kids and education. ‘We have thrown billions of dollars to poverty, and we’re in worse shape than ever,’ said Peggy Kirkpatrick, executive director of the Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri. ‘Our Band-Aid has gotten about as big as it can get.’ Boone County’s population grew by 20 percent from 2000 to 2010, while the number of children age 18 and under in poverty increased by 49 percent during that time. The county’s overall poverty rate is 18.4 percent. The current local push-back against poverty is largely a response to the cost of providing services, a total that reached an estimated $300 million in 2010 for Boone County, including social service and government programs…”
Medicaid and Dental Care
Medicaid coverage is no guarantee of care, By Sarah Okeson, April 21, 2012, Springfield News-Leader: “Adults on Medicaid in Missouri have to be blind, pregnant or in a nursing home to qualify for dental care. It’s better for children. The federal government requires dental coverage for children on Medicaid in Missouri and other states. But that insurance doesn’t mean they actually get the services. Slightly more than 30 percent of children ages 1 to 18 enrolled in Medicaid in Missouri received dental services in 2009, the fourth worst rate among the 50 states, according to the Pew Center on the States in Washington, D.C. Only Florida, Montana and Wisconsin had dentists who treated a smaller share of their states’ poor children…”
Low-Income Students and Special Education Placement – Massachusetts
Special education policies in Mass. reviewed, By James Vaznis, April 23, 2012, Boston Globe: “Low-income school districts are most likely to place students in special education programs for mild and sometimes questionable disabilities, a practice that has swelled the state’s special education population to one of the highest rates in the nation, according to a first-of-a-kind study commissioned by the state. The study – to be presented at a state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting Monday night – is expected to provoke debate over whether low-income districts are placing students in special education because of legitimate disabilities or because of weak academic programs that cause students to fall behind, or because some teachers want unruly students out of their classrooms. That low-income districts are more likely to identify special education students debunks a long-held belief in Massachusetts that it is the savvy, well-heeled parents in wealthier districts who have been pushing up special education rates as they demand advantages for their children, such as extra academic support and waivers from time limits on standardized tests…”
Affordable Housing – Colorado, Texas
- Report: Low-income Coloradans priced out of rentals, By Howard Pankratz, April 23, 2012, Denver Post: “People with the lowest incomes in Colorado are being priced out of rental properties, a report issued Monday by the Colorado Division of Housing said. ‘Rental housing in general since 2009 has become more scarce for many households as vacancies fall and rents rise,’ said Ryan McMaken, a spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing. ‘But when one is at the lowest income levels, the impact of the growing demand for rentals can be especially severe as once-affordable units are priced out of range.’ The report said that among households with the lowest incomes, there are twice as many households as there are affordable rentals units in Colorado…”
- Affordable housing fenced into poor areas, By Karisa King and Ryan Murphy, April 23, 2012, San Antonio Express-News: “Plans to build an affordable apartment complex for seniors in one of San Antonio’s most fashionable neighborhoods had been posted for barely a week in January when the fury hit. Residents feared the 68 apartments, which were competing for funding with federal tax credits, would spoil the affluent Stone Oak neighborhood. In a storm of emails, calls and letters to local and state officials, they predicted bitter results: damaged property values, more traffic and an increase in crime. ‘It just didn’t fit with us,’ said Francisco Martinez, president of the Mount Arrowhead Homeowners Association, one of about a dozen groups that opposed the apartments. ‘These are single-family homes. Anything that takes away from that takes away from why we bought into it.’ By March, the neighbors had prevailed. The project and any chance of public funding this year were dead. In Texas, where tax-credit proposals often need community support to survive, the project’s demise illustrates how the largest national program to create affordable housing pushes low-income developments away from desirable neighborhoods…”
High School Graduation Rates – Michigan
- 4 of every 10 minorities or low-income Kalamazoo-area students do not graduate on time, report shows, By Julie Mack, April 20, 2012, Kalamazoo Gazette: “Nearly half of African-Americans and four of every 10 Kalamazoo-area students who are Hispanic and/or come from a low-income household do not graduate high school on time, according to the latest graduation/dropout report from the Michigan Department of Education. The statistic also is true for students diagnosed with a disability. Even six years after starting high school, a third of students in those groups still lack a high school diploma, the data shows. Numbers for the 35 school districts in the Kalamazoo area closely track statewide trends and have remained fairly consistent in recent years…”
- Graduation data for Kalamazoo Public Schools reflects high dropout rate among African-American males, By Julie Mack, April 20, 2012, Kalamazoo Gazette: “Kalamazoo Public Schools counted 182 African-American males who started high school in the fall of 2007. Only 80 — or 44 percent — graduated on time last June, according to the state’s latest graduation report. Of the KPS African-American young men who failed to graduate, 39, or 23 percent, were recorded as dropouts and the remaining students were still in school but lacked enough credits to graduate. Among Kalamazoo’s African-American females in the Class of 2011, 68 percent graduated on time — the same graduation rate as KPS white males…”
- Local graduation rate dips, By Justin A. Hinkley, April 15, 2012, Battle Creek Enquirer: “Michigan’s tougher new graduation requirements shaved 3 percentage points off of the local graduation rate. Locally, 77 percent of students graduated on time last spring, down from 80 percent in 2010, according to recently released data from the Michigan Department of Education’s Center for Educational Performance & Information. The local rate is the combined total of all 23 area school districts with graduating seniors. Of those 23 districts, eight districts showed improvements in their graduation rates while the rest posted declines. The Class of 2011 was the first in the state to go through all four years of the Michigan Merit Curriculum graduation requirements, which have been called some of the toughest in the country…”
Medical Home Network – Chicago, IL
Coordinated care program aims to save Medicaid millions, By By Peter Frost, April 20, 2012, Chicago Tribune: “On Easter, Keontae Barnes doubled over in pain, her back and stomach tightening so much she thought she was in labor. Nearly eight months pregnant with her second child, a girl, Barnes headed straight to the emergency department at Holy Cross Hospital in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, just a few blocks from her home. After a quick – and costly – examination, doctors determined it was a false alarm; her pains were normal for women in the later stages of pregnancy. The next day, her primary care doctor at Chicago Family Health Center called, asking Barnes what happened and making sure she was OK. ‘I was shocked. I said, ‘How did you know?” Barnes said. ‘She told me to come in the next day, and she gave me her emergency pager and her email. She said if I ever have any questions or concerns, I can always get in touch, any time of day.’ About a week later, Barnes did just that. Instead of rushing to the ER with intense chest pains, she called her doctor. Acid reflux. A trip to Walgreens solved the problem in short order and saved the state’s Medicaid program and Holy Cross thousands of dollars…”
Voter Registration at Public Assistance Agencies – Georgia
Georgia settles voter registration suit, By Bill Rankin, April 19, 2012, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The state of Georgia has settled a lawsuit by agreeing to provide the opportunity to register to vote every time people apply for public assistance benefits, a coalition of civil rights groups said Thursday. Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who signed off on the agreement, condemned the litigation. He said the settlement will cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to comply with ‘outdated and unneeded federal voter registration mandates and in attorneys fees paid to venue-shopping interest groups.’ The lawsuit alleged the state had been ignoring its obligations under the National Voter Registration Act…”