Number of children in foster care drops for 6th straight year, to 400,000, despite hard times, Associated Press, July 30, 2102, Washington Post: “The number of U.S. children in foster care has dropped for the sixth straight year, falling to about 400,000 compared to more than 520,000 a decade ago, according to new federal figures demonstrating the staying power of reforms even amid economic turbulence. The drop results primarily from a shift in the policies and practices of state and county child welfare agencies. Many have shortened stays in foster care, expedited adoptions and expanded preventive support for troubled families so more children avoid being removed from home in the first place. The new figures released by the Department of Health and Human Services show there were 400,540 children in foster care as of Sept. 30. That’s down from 406,412 a year earlier and from about 523,000 in 2002…”
Monthly Archives: July 2012
No Child Left Behind Waivers
States with education waivers offer varied goals, By Motoko Rich, July 26, 2012, New York Times: “In excusing more than half of the states from meeting crucial requirements of the No Child Left Behind education law, the Obama administration sought to require states to develop more realistic tools to improve and measure the progress of schools and teachers. A report being issued on Friday by the liberal Center for American Progress shows that while some states have proposed reforms aimed at spurring schools and teachers to improve student performance, others may be introducing weaker measures of accountability…”
State Unemployment Insurance Funds
Are states’ unemployment insurance loans dragging down economies?, By Pamela M. Prah, July 30, 2012, Stateline: “States are slowly paying off the billions of dollars they borrowed to keep their unemployment trust funds afloat during the recession, but those debts are challenging a system created more than 75 years ago and could be hampering some states’ economic recovery. Of the 34 states that borrowed to keep paying unemployment insurance (UI) during the recession, 22 still owe more than $30 billion to the federal government, a debt that will take years for states to pay off…”
States and Medicaid Expansion – Ohio, Washington
- State’s poorest could be left without health insurance if Medicaid expansion is rejected, By Catherine Candisky, July 30, 2012, Columbus Dispatch: “If Gov. John Kasich decides against expanding the state’s Medicaid program, more than 600,000 of the poorest Ohioans could remain without health insurance while those with slightly higher incomes would qualify for subsidies and tax credits to buy private coverage. The potential gap was created last month when the U.S. Supreme Court, while upholding most of the federal health-care law, tossed a requirement that states expand Medicaid or face federal sanctions. The health-care overhaul was designed to cover about half of uninsured Americans through Medicaid by expanding eligibility to those earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level – largely childless adults with incomes under $15,000 a year. The rest would be required to purchase private coverage starting in 2014 – a mandate upheld by a majority of the justices – with subsidies and tax credits for those earning 100 to 400 percent of the poverty level…”
- Medicaid debate likely to be big one in Olympia, By Brad Shannon, July 30, 2012, Tacoma News Tribune: “How far to expand Medicaid coverage for poor people under the new federal health-reform law is turning into a major question in many states. In Washington, it is shaping up as a major question for the Legislature next year. Majority Democrats and Republicans are sharply split, and their differences came into sharp focus last week during a legislative work session on health reform at the Capitol. At issue was how far the state should go in providing taxpayer-paid health care for poor people who, if uninsured, drive up costs for everyone else by going to hospital emergency rooms. Medicaid now serves nearly 1.1 million Washingtonians, and upward of 1 million more could enroll in January 2014 under the federal Affordable Care Act. Most of those costs would be paid by the federal government; the state’s share would top out at 10 percent in 2020…”
State Medicaid Expansions
- Medicaid expansion may lower death rates, study says, By Pam Belluck, July 25, 2012, New York Times: “Into the maelstrom of debate over whether Medicaid should cover more people comes a new study by Harvard researchers who found that when states expanded their Medicaid programs and gave more poor people health insurance, fewer people died. The study, published online Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, comes as states are deciding whether to expand Medicaid by 2014 under the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration’s health care law. The Supreme Court ruling on the law last month effectively gave states the option of accepting or rejecting an expansion of Medicaid that had been expected to add 17 million people to the program’s rolls…”
- Study: New Medicaid expansion could be a lifesaver, By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar (AP), July 26, 2012, Columbus Dispatch: “States that expand their Medicaid programs under President Barack Obama’s health care law may end up saving thousands of lives, a medical journal report released yesterday indicates. Until now, the Medicaid debate has been about budgets and states’ rights. But a statistical study by Harvard researchers in the New England Journal of Medicine found a 6 percent drop in the adult death rate in Arizona, Maine and New York, three states that have recently expanded coverage for low-income residents along the general lines of the federal health care law. The study found that for every 176 adults covered under expanded Medicaid, one death per year would be prevented…”
Affordable Care Act and Safety-Net Hospitals
Hospitals fear cuts in aid for care to illegal immigrants, By Nina Bernstein, July 26, 2012, New York Times: “President Obama’s health care law is putting new strains on some of the nation’s most hard-pressed hospitals, by cutting aid they use to pay for emergency care for illegal immigrants, which they have long been required to provide. The federal government has been spending $20 billion annually to reimburse these hospitals – most in poor urban and rural areas – for treating more than their share of the uninsured, including illegal immigrants. The health care law will eventually cut that money in half, based on the premise that fewer people will lack insurance after the law takes effect. But the estimated 11 million people now living illegally in the United States are not covered by the health care law. Its sponsors, seeking to sidestep the contentious debate over immigration, excluded them from the law’s benefits…”
MinnesotaCare Expansion
Minn.’s health care safety net expands for thousands of kids, By Jennifer Brooks, July 27, 2012, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “The state of Minnesota is expanding health care coverage to thousands of uninsured children. The new initiative, first approved by the Legislature in 2009 and finally implemented this month, will erase barriers such as waiting periods and monthly insurance premium payments for some 16,000 children from lower-income families across the state. Gloria Agbator wept when she heard the news. A single working mother, Agbator has health insurance for herself through her job, but she cannot afford the monthly premiums needed to include her three children on the plan…”
2012 Kids Count Report – Northeastern States
- Kids Count study ranks Maine high for healthy kids and good communities, finds state lacking in education, By Susan McMillan, July 26, 2012, Morning Sentinel: “Maine does well in providing for its children’s health and family and community environments, but they fare less well in education and economic well-being. Maine ranked 13th among the states in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual Kids Count report assessing children’s well-being. The three top states were New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont; among the New England states, only Rhode Island ranked lower than Maine…”
- Survey: N.H. tops list for well-being of children, Associated Press, July 26, 2012, Seacoastonline: “New Hampshire continues to be the top state in a national survey of children’s well-being, according to a report released Wednesday. The Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Book showed that the state improved in child education and health care, based mostly on 2010 data. Massachusetts was the second best state, followed by Vermont. Nevada, New Mexico and Mississippi were ranked the bottom three states, respectively…”
- State is 3rd in Kids Count child well-being survey, By Molly Walsh, July 27, 2012, Burlington Free Press: “Life is looking up for Shayla Messier since she found her way to the green hilltop where the Family Center of Washington County sits. The 23-year-old single mom from Barre says her 2year-old son Cole is thriving in the center’s child care program and she’s benefited from parenting classes that offer tips on everything from budgeting to stress management. She’s earning a certificate in early childhood development and hopes to find a permanent job at a preschool soon. Messier wants to get off public assistance and said the Family Center’s programs brought her to the following realization: ‘I didn’t have to be that single mom on Reach Up.’ Gov. Peter Shumlin and other state leaders gathered at the Family Center Wednesday to praise Vermont programs for at-risk families and to announce the results of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2012 KIDS COUNT survey. It shows that Vermont ranks third-best in the nation for child well-being…”
- Report: Pennsylvania ranks 14th in overall child well-being, By Angie Mason, July 25, 2012, York Daily Record: “Pennsylvania ranks relatively well among other states in a report on child well-being, but some advocates say the challenge will be making sure it stays that way. The 2012 Kids Count Data Book, released Wednesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, ranks states on overall child well-being, using 16 indicators in four categories – education, health, economic well-being, and family and community. Pennsylvania is ranked 14th overall. The state ranks eighth in the areas of education and health. The report shows more Pennsylvania kids are attending preschool, achieving reading proficiency in fourth grade and math proficiency in eighth grade, and fewer without health insurance. But the state ranks lower in other categories – 17th in economic well-being, and 23rd in family and community. The percentage of kids in poverty has increased, as well as the percentage of kids whose parents don’t have secure employment. Single-parent families have increased, too, according to the report…”
- New York ranks 29th in nationwide analysis of children’s well-being, By Jennifer Thompson, July 25, 2012, Syracuse Post-Standard: “More children in New York state have health insurance and the teen pregnancy rate has dropped, but more children in the state are living in poverty and in single-parent families, according to a report released Wednesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. New York state ranks 29th in the nation in the foundation’s 2012 Kids Count report, which measures children’s well-being in the areas of health, economic security, education and family/community…”
2012 Kids Count Report – Western States
- Oregon tumbles in report on kids, By Saerom Yoo, July 24, 2012, Statesman Journal: “An annual report that ranks the 50 states on the well-being of their children says that Oregon’s place has taken a dive. The 23rd Kids Count Data Book, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, ranks Oregon 33rd — a drop of 15 spots since last year. The foundation measures child well-being using statistics about economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. In previous reports, Oregon consistently ranked in the top 20 because of its positive performance on child health care. This year, the foundation focused more on economic and community characteristics, which are the indicators weighing on the state’s children, according to the report…”
- Nevada takes hit on kids’ well-being, By Siobhan McAndrew, July 25, 2012, Reno Gazette-Journal: “Compared to the rest of the country, Nevada’s kids are more likely to live in poverty, come from a single-parent home and less likely to attend preschool or graduate high school on time. Trailing just behind New Mexico and Mississippi, a report ranked Nevada 48th in child welfare indicators. The low rankings in education, health and economic situations affect a child’s ability to succeed and thrive, according to the 2012 Kids Count Data Book released Wednesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The nonprofit has been collecting data from states since 1990 in an effort to create new initiatives and lobby lawmakers…”
- Calif. sinks to 41st on kids’ well-being, By Neal J. Riley, July 25, 2012, San Francisco Chronicle: “Ranked highly among the states on child welfare issues last year, California is now one of the worst, according to a new report. The Golden State tumbled from last year’s position of 16th to 41st on children’s overall well-being, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a national philanthropy group for children, reported in its annual rankings Wednesday…”
- Kids Count report: Number of Utah kids in poverty up 45%, By Cathy Mckitrick, July 24, 2012, Salt Lake Tribune: “Utah is among 43 states where the number of children living in poverty has increased, according to the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book released Wednesday. From 2005 to 2010, the number of Utah children living below the federal poverty threshold — $23,050 in gross annual income for a family of four— rose from 11 percent to 16 percent, roughly a 45 percent increase. However, the Annie E. Casey Foundation study also ranks Utah 11th in the nation in terms of overall child well-being…”
- Wyoming ranks in top half of states for child well-being, By Joshua Wolfson, July 25, 2012, Casper Star-Tribune: “Wyoming’s child and teen death rate inched up during the second half of the past decade, even as the national rate declined 15 percent, according to figures released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The rate of child and teenage deaths in Wyoming rose from 45 to 47, per 100,000, during the years 2005 to 2009. The national average decreased from 32 to 27 deaths over that same period. The disturbing trend contributed to Wyoming’s poor health score in the foundation’s annual Kids Count report, which measures child well-being. The state ranked 47th in the nation in the health category…”
- Montana behind neighbors in children’s well-being report, By Charles S. Johnson, July 25, 2012, The Missoulian: “Montana ranked 28th best nationally in some key indicators of children’s well-being, but once again trailed its four neighboring states, the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2012 Kids Count Data Book showed Tuesday. The private foundation ranked states on their overall child well-being using what it calls four ‘domains,’ or categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. Within each category, there are four sets of measurements…”
- National report gives Arizona poor marks in child well-being, By Michelle Reese, July 26, 2012, East Valley Tribune: “Arizona is not doing well by its children, according to an annual report released this week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In fact, the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book shows only four states in the country are doing worse in terms of the overall well-being of children. Arizona dropped nine rankings from last year’s report. Using economic, education, health, and family and community facts related to children in Arizona from 2005 through 2011, the foundation determined Arizona sorely needs to make improvements to a number of areas, including children’s access to health care and early childhood programs…”
2012 Kids Count Data Book – Midwestern States
- Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska fare well in child study, By Dale Wetzel (AP), July 25, 2012, Bismarck Tribune: “Children in four Great Plains states are more likely to have parents with jobs, better household finances and manageable living costs, a new report says. The annual Kids Count study, done by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and published Wednesday, ranks North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota as the top four states when measuring the economic well-being of children. Overall, the four states ranked in the top 20 in the survey, which also compiles measurements reflecting child education, health, and family circumstances such as teenage birth rates and the percentage of children who live in single-parent families. The study measured 16 different factors. Child advocates in the four states were surprised by some of the results…”
- Minnesota, N.D. ranked high for child health, By Helmut Schmidt, July 25, 2012, Grand Forks Herald: “Minnesota ranks fifth and North Dakota sixth in the U.S. in the latest rankings of child health and well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book. It’s an increase of four spots in the national rankings for North Dakota, which was 10th among the states in 2011. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s ranking this year, while high, is the state’s lowest ranking in a decade from the KIDS COUNT Data Book. In 2011, the state was ranked second in the nation. The state was ranked first in 2007…”
- Child poverty is growing across Iowa, report finds, By Mary Stegmeir, July 26, 2012, Des Moines Register: “An increasing percentage of Iowa children are living in poverty and a quarter of the state’s children have parents who lack secure employment, according to a national study released Wednesday. The data come from the most recent Kids Count report, compiled annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation of Baltimore. Most of the statistics were gathered in 2010, but the study still provides Iowans with an illuminating look at how the national economic downturn has affected the state’s youngest residents, said Michael Crawford, director of the Child and Family Policy Center in Des Moines…”
- Iowa makes Top 10, Illinois improves in family survey, By Deirdre Cox Baker, July 25, 2012, Quad-City Times: “Iowa stays in the nation’s ‘Top 10′ and Illinois improves to 21st best in the United States in the latest survey on the welfare of American children and their families. The 2012 Kids Count, from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows both progress and setbacks for the nation’s children – including better numbers for health and education-related measures, and troubling indicators in the economic indexes…”
- Other states outshine Michigan in many categories of latest ‘Kids Count’ report, By Tim Martin, July 25, 2012, MLive.com: “Michigan ranks in the bottom half of the states in many categories of a report measuring the well-being of children. The latest Kids Count rankings are set for release Wednesday by the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation. Michigan ranks 32nd overall in the survey that compares statistics related to economics, education, health and other areas…”
- Poverty tightens its hold on youth, By Ron Shawgo, July 26, 2012, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “More than a year after the national recession officially ended, the poverty rate among Hoosier children continued to rise as many parents faced unemployment. The 2012 Kids Count Data Book released Wednesday reports that 22 percent of Indiana children – more than one in five – lived in poverty in 2010, matching the national rate and a 2-percentage-point increase from the year before…”
- Child poverty increases in Wisconsin, By Aisha Qidwae, July 25, 2012, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The percentages of Wisconsin children living in poverty and whose parents lacked stable employment both showed significant increases in 2010, according to a new report that compares state trends in children’s well-being. The increase translates to about 248,000 children living in poverty in 2010 compared with 2005, when 177,800 in Wisconsin were considered below the poverty line, based on the 2012 Kids Count Data Book. The report, published annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and released Wednesday, groups an index of 16 indicators into four categories including economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. The report also finds that 402,000 children had parents who didn’t have stable jobs in 2010 compared with 2008, when 287,000 parents didn’t have secure employment…”
- Nebraska kids fare better than those of other states, By Erin Andersen, July 25, 2012, Lincoln Journal Star: “Compared to kids in the other 49 states, children in Nebraska do live the good life — at least according to the Kids Count national report released Wednesday. The 2012 report ranks Nebraska second in the nation in overall economic well-being for children and families. North Dakota is first, based on 2010 statistics (the most recent year available). Despite being one of the country’s best places, economically speaking, the number of Nebraska kids in poverty or tenuous economic situations increased between 20 and 26 percent from 2005 to 2010…”
2012 Kids Count Data Book – Southern States
- Report says 1 in 4 Kentucky children and 1 in 5 Hoosier kids are mired in child poverty, By Jessie Halladay, July 25, 2012, Louisville Courier-Journal: “One in four Kentucky children lives in poverty, and their numbers have increased starkly since 2005, according to the latest Kids Count report released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Mirroring a national trend, the number of the state’s children living below the poverty line – defined in 2010 as $22,113 for a family of two adults and two children – rose 18 percent between 2005 and 2010, according to the annual report, which provides an annual snapshot of child well-being. In Indiana, one in five children lives in poverty, a 29 percent increase between 2005 and 2010…”
- Maryland ranks 10th in child well-being, national study says, By Yvonne Wenger, July 25, 2012, Baltimore Sun: “Fewer Maryland children are living in high-poverty neighborhoods than a decade ago, but the lingering economic slump has left more parents without a steady paycheck, the Annie E. Casey Foundation reported Wednesday. The Baltimore-based charity ranks Maryland 10th in the nation for overall child well-being in its 2012 Kids Count Data Book, which analyzed nationwide research and statistics on children’s economic well-being, education, health, family and community…”
- Study: More SC kids living in poverty, By Gina Smith, July 26, 2012, The State: “South Carolina ranks near the bottom – 43rd among the 50 states – in a ranking of children’s well being. That is according to the newly released Kids Count report, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, that assesses the overall health of the nation’s children, including their economic health, family situation and education. The most-troubling S.C. finding is the number of children living in poverty…”
- Kids Count report ranks W.Va. as one of worst in education, By Megan Workman, July 24, 2012, Charleston Gazette: “With nearly four out of five eighth-grade students who are not proficient in math, West Virginia received one of the worst education rankings in the country, a national report being released today shows. Nationwide, the percentage of eighth-graders who are not proficient in math decreased from 72 percent in 2005 to 66 percent in 2011, according to the report. West Virginia ranks 47th in the nation in education, according to The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual Kids Count Data Book. Arizona, Mississippi, New Mexico and Nevada join West Virginia as the five states ranked weakest for education…”
- Alabama 45th of 50 for child well-being in 2012 Kids Count Data Book, By Kim Chandler, July 25, 2012, Birmingham News: “Alabama made its best showing ever in an annual ranking of child well-being, but it still came in 45th among the 50 states. The 2012 Kids Count Data Book released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation showed Alabama made gains in education but continues to struggle with high rates of child poverty. The report ranked Alabama 45th, the state’s best ranking since the Data Book began publication in 1990…”
- Oklahoma lags in child well-being ranks, By Mike Averill, July 25, 2012, Tulsa World: “Despite slight improvement, Oklahoma remains near the bottom of the country for child well-being, according to a national report that ranks states using an index of 16 indicators in four categories. Oklahoma ranked 40th overall, up from last year’s 43rd spot, according to the 2012 Kids Count Data Book released annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation…”
- Texas 44th in children’s well-being, By Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje, July 26, 2012, San Antonio Express-News: “Texas ranks 44th among the states when it comes to the health and well-being of its children, according to a study by a Baltimore nonprofit that advocates for at-risk kids. Using the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources, the study found the child poverty rate in Texas was higher in 2010 than the national rate of 22 percent, with 26 percent living in poverty. Texas was second from the bottom in children who lack health insurance, with an uninsured rate of 14 percent in 2010, although that’s been decreasing…”
- Report ranks Florida behind most states on child health and education, By Margie Menzel, July 26, 2012, Daytona Beach News-Journal: “A new report Wednesday shows Florida trailing most other states in the health and education of its children — with an especially low ranking in economic well-being. The effects are harmful and could be long-term — not just for the children but for the state, advocates say. The annual Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation ranks Florida 44th in the economic well-being of its children, 38th in their health outcomes and 35th in their educational performance. The state ranks 38th overall. The number of Florida children living in poverty is up 28 percent from 2005 to 2010, the last year for which data was included in the study. That measurement considers such factors as whether the parents have secure employment or the ability to cover their housing costs…”
2012 Kids Count Data Book
- Kids Count report: America’s children are advancing despite the economy, By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, July 25, 2012, Christian Science Monitor: “More children are attending preschool, more elementary students are reading better, and more high-schoolers are graduating on time despite the sharp economic downturn, according to a new report released Wednesday. Yet the increase in the number of children living in poverty, and the lagging negative effects expected from state budget cuts, are prompting advocates to call for a sharper national focus on children’s well-being…”
- Economic distress does a number on children, By Rebecca Lurye, July 25, 2012, USA Today: “The well-being of American children looks to be a mixed bag, with gains in academic achievement and health offset by growing economic distress, a new study finds. The percentage of children living in poverty in the U.S. is on the rise, according to the new Kids Count report, which also finds more children living in single-parent homes and with parents struggling to afford housing. The data, which track change in 16 indicators of well-being from 2005 to 2010, also show more children had parents lacking steady employment. The decline in children’s economic situations is ominous because living in extended periods of deep poverty threatens children’s development, says Patrick McCarthy, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which released the Kids Count report…”
States and Medicaid Cuts
- Medicaid drug restrictions thus far seen as bitter pill for patients, providers, By Monique Garcia and Bonnie Miller, July 25, 2012, Chicago Tribune: “To illustrate the early problems the state is having as it makes large-scale cuts to its Medicaid program, consider the new limit on prescription drugs. For the most part, low-income people used to be able to get an unlimited number of prescriptions filled. Now there’s a maximum of four a month. That’s a problem for mental health patients who may take a cocktail of six or seven drugs a day, from psychotropic medicines to control mood and behavior to prescriptions to suppress unwanted side effects. While the new law allows for doctors to write more than four prescriptions a month for those who need it, they must get prior approval – a process health care professionals say the state has yet to detail and is ill-equipped to handle…”
- 13 states aim to limit Medicaid, By Phil Galewitz and Matthew Fleming, July 22, 2012, USA Today: “Thirteen states are moving to cut Medicaid by reducing benefits, paying health providers less or tightening eligibility, even as the federal government prepares to expand the insurance program for the poor to to as many as 17 million more people. States routinely trim the program as tough times drive up enrollment and costs. But the latest reductions – which follow more extensive cuts last year – threaten to limit access to care for some of its 60 million recipients…”
- Doctors: Limiting Medicaid prescriptions adds risk, By Phil Galewitz, July 22, 2012, USA Today: “Illinois Medicaid recipients have been limited to four prescription drugs as the state becomes the latest to cap how many medicines it will cover in the state-federal health insurance program for the poor. Doctors fear the state’s cost-cutting move could harm patients, who have to get state permission to go beyond the limit…”
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Big jump in food-stamp enrollment drives farm bill debate, By Charles Pope, July 22, 2012, The Oregonian: “The farm bill Congress is struggling to pass is enormous — a $958 billion piece of legislation filling 600 pages that seems nearly as expansive as the horizon-to-horizon mega-farms and ranches it governs. Whether it passes this year depends on the response to two questions that have nothing to do with agriculture and affect everyone in the country: Who should pay to reduce the nation’s $1.2 trillion deficit? And, what is the government’s obligation to help people in need? In addition to crop and conservation programs, the farm bill pays for food stamps, technically the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP. The recession spurred growth in the program, which now helps 46 million Americans, including one in five in Oregon…”
Health Care Ruling and the Uninsured
- 3 million fewer may be insured due to ruling, study predicts, By Robert Pear, July 24, 2012, New York Times: “The Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday that the Supreme Court decision on President Obama’s health care overhaul would probably lead to an increase in the number of uninsured and a modest reduction in the cost to the federal government, compared with estimates before the court ruling. The court said, in effect, that a large expansion of Medicaid envisioned under the 2010 law was a state option, not a requirement. As a result, the budget office said, it now predicts that six million fewer people will be insured by Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people. But half of them, it said, will probably gain private insurance coverage through health insurance exchanges to be established in all states…”
- Supreme Court decision scales back cost, coverage of healthcare law, By Noam N. Levey, July 24, 2012, Los Angeles Times: “Fewer Americans will likely get health insurance over the next decade under President Obama’s healthcare law as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to limit it, according to a new analysis of the landmark ruling. At the same time, the court’s decision to allow states to opt out of a major expansion of the government Medicaid insurance program for the poor could also save taxpayers $84 billion by 2022, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates. The new projections confirm that the court’s ruling will not fundamentally alter the law that Obama signed in 2010…”
- CBO: Court ruling cuts cost of health-care law, but leaves 3 million more uninsured, By Lori Montgomery, July 24, 2012, Washington Post: “President Obama’s signature health-care initiative will cost a bit less than expected thanks to last month’s Supreme Court ruling, but the court’s decision is also likely to leave millions of poor people without access to health insurance, congressional budget analysts said Tuesday. In its June 28 ruling, the court upheld the bulk of the Affordable Care Act, but struck down its plan to require states to expand their Medicaid programs to cover poor people who earn as much as 138 percent of the federal poverty level. As a result of the court’s decision, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office now expects that some states will refuse to fully expand their Medicaid programs or will not do so immediately when most provisions of the law take effect in 2014…”
States and Medicaid Expansion
- Working poor stand at center of Medicaid debate, By Juan Carlos Llorca (AP), July 23, 2012, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Jose Gallegos’ company eliminated employee health insurance to save money, so when his gut started hurting and his skin took on a yellow tinge, he resisted seeing a doctor. When he finally went to the emergency room, physicians diagnosed stomach cancer. Gallegos made too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to buy his own insurance, so he scraped together what he could, and his wife, Andrea, took on three jobs. Just over a year later, at 41, he died, leaving behind four children. Two years later, it was Andrea’s turn. A crack and sharp pain in her back drove her to the emergency room, where she learned she had breast cancer. It had snapped one of her vertebra. Now 45, she said the cancer remains in several other vertebrae, but at the moment it’s not spreading. Families like the Gallegos stand at the center of a debate over President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, which could have expanded Medicaid coverage to 1.3 million uninsured Texans. But Republican Gov. Rick Perry has said he will not widen the program because it would cost too much…”
- Alabama weighs costs, benefits of medicaid expansion under Affordable Care Act, By Kim Chandler, July 22, 2012, Birmingham News: “Alabama could make deep reductions in the number of people who go each day without health insurance if state officials choose to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Alabama ranks 14th in the country for the number of people who likely would be added to the Medicaid rolls if the program were expanded, according to estimates from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Alabama also is one of five states where more than 60 percent of the state’s uninsured population could become eligible for Medicaid if the expansion were implemented, according to the Urban Institute. But those gains in insurance — while mostly paid for by the federal government — wouldn’t be entirely free to the state. The federal government would pay 100 percent of the cost of services for new enrollees for the first three years, but that eventually would drop to 90 percent…”
Poverty in the US
- U.S. poverty heads toward highest level in 50 years, By Hope Yen, July 23, 2012, Chicago Tribune: “The ranks of America’s poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net. Census figures for 2011 will be released this fall in the critical weeks ahead of the November elections. The Associated Press surveyed more than a dozen economists, think tanks and academics, both nonpartisan and those with known liberal or conservative leanings, and found a broad consensus: The official poverty rate will rise from 15.1 percent in 2010, climbing as high as 15.7 percent. Several predicted a more modest gain, but even a 0.1 percentage point increase would put poverty at the highest level since 1965…”
- Connecticut’s ribbon of hardship, By Esmé E. Deprez, July 5, 2012, Businessweek: “Jodey Lazarus’s brown eyes follow the red grapes down checkout lane 11′s conveyor belt, then focus on the cash register to verify she’s getting the 99¢-a-pound price promised in the weekly ShopRite circular. The bill is just short of $70. Lazarus, 29, takes a breath, drops her gaze and extends her silver state benefits card. The card machine fails to read the damaged magnetic strip. The cashier squints at the numbers. ‘It doesn’t swipe?’ ‘No. It doesn’t swipe,’ Lazarus murmurs. The cashier types the card code, and Lazarus signs for the groceries. This is the second time today she’s gone through this routine with a store clerk; the morning found her at La Marqueta, where onions were cheaper and the payment process just as awkward. As she pulls out of the parking lot, her 14-year-old Dodge Caravan shrieks. Just a belt or something worse? She’s not sure. It’s too expensive to repair right now anyway…”
LA Times Series on the World’s Population
Beyond 7 billion, series homepage, By Kenneth R. Weiss, Los Angeles Times: “After remaining stable for most of human history, the world’s population has exploded over the last two centuries. The boom is not over: The biggest generation in history is just entering its childbearing years. The coming wave will reshape the planet, and the impact will be greatest in the poorest, most unstable countries…”
State Medicaid Programs – Maine, Texas
- Maine debate hints at rift on Medicaid after ruling, By Abby Goognough and Robert Pear, July 18, 2012, New York Times: “As some Republican governors declare that they will not expand Medicaid under the national health care law, Gov. Paul R. LePage is going a step further. In what could lead to a direct confrontation with the Obama administration, he is planning to cut thousands of people from Maine’s Medicaid rolls, arguing that the recent Supreme Court ruling on the law gives him license to do so. Mr. LePage, a Republican, says the ruling gave states leeway to tighten eligibility for Medicaid, the joint state-federal program that provides health care to low-income and disabled people. Federal officials insist that while the ruling allowed states to opt out of a planned expansion of Medicaid, it left intact all other aspects of the law affecting the program…”
- The big push on Medicaid fraud, By Emily Ramshaw, July 19, 2012, New York Times: “When it comes to finding cost savings in the state’s unwieldy Medicaid program, the Office of Inspector General at the Health and Human Services Commission gets high marks. The division, charged with investigating fraud among health care providers paid to treat impoverished children and the disabled, has drastically increased both its caseload and the potential monetary returns associated with it over the last fiscal year. The spike has won glowing reviews from budget-weary state lawmakers and has cast Texas’ innovative enforcement team into the national spotlight. But O.I.G.’s dollar-recovery strategy – which includes an increased reliance on a rule that allows investigators to freeze financing for any health care provider accused of overbilling – has enraged doctors, dentists and other providers who treat Medicaid patients. They say an anonymous call to a fraud hot line or a computer-generated analysis of a handful of billing codes is enough to halt their financing without even a hearing, jeopardizing their practices and employees and leaving thousands of needy patients in a lurch while the state works to prove – or rule out – abuse…”
State Unemployment Rates
- Unemployment rates rise in 27 states as more look for work, By Christopher S. Rugaber (AP), July 20, 2012, USA Today: “Unemployment rates rose in 27 states last month, the most in almost a year. The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates fell in 11 states and Washington, D.C. – the fewest declines since August. Rates were unchanged in 12 states. Nationwide, employers added only 80,000 jobs last month, third straight month of weak job growth. The national unemployment rate stayed at 8.2%…”
- Payrolls climb in 29 U.S. states, led by California, By Lorraine Woellert, July 20, 2012, Bloomberg: “Payrolls increased in 29 states in June, while 21 lost jobs, indicating limited progress in the U.S. labor market. The unemployment rate rose in 27 states, fell in 11 and the District of Columbia, and was unchanged in 12. California led the nation with a 38,300 gain in employment, followed by Ohio with an increase of 18,400 jobs, the Labor Department reported today in Washington…”