Alabama poverty rate would decline under new formula, says study, By Dan Murtaugh, November 12, 2009, Mobile Press-Register: “Alabama’s poverty rate is lower than the national average when regional differences in housing costs are taken into account, according to a recent study. Both Alabama and Mississippi are among several Southeastern states whose poverty rates decrease under such a formula. The study, written by Dorothy Smith at the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington, D.C., aims to highlight the need to modernize how poverty is measured. Kristina Scott, executive director of the Alabama Poverty Project, said a study of regional differences in poverty needs to take into account more than just housing costs. But overall, she agreed that officials need new ways to measure the problem…”

Study finds working poor hardest hit by income tax, By Phillip Rawls (AP), November 5, 2009, Montgomery Advertiser: “A national study released Wednesday showed Alaba­ma makes families living in poverty pay higher income taxes than any other state. The study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priori­ties comes a few days after a U.S. Census report showed Alabama residents and busi­nesses overall pay less in state and local taxes than their counterparts in any other state. In the 2007 fiscal year, the average of state and local taxes collected per person in Alabama was $2,909. Missis­sippi finished 49th at $2,989. The national median was $4,011. That doesn’t mean every­one in Alabama is enjoying low taxes…”

• Rule limits reach of Iowa health program, By Nigel Duara (AP), September 14, 2009, Des Moines Register: “A state program offering health care to low-income adults without children is serving thousands of people who have never had health insurance, but more than half of those enrolling are from six Iowa counties. That’s because people seeking care through IowaCare can only go to the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City. The exception are people who live in Polk County, who can request a waiver to seek treatment at a Des Moines hospital. The situation has frustrated some hospital administrators and legislators, who call it unequal treatment that hurts patients and hospitals…”
• ALL Kids insurance program eligibility expands Oct. 1, By Phillip Rawls (AP), September 14, 2009, Montgomery Advertiser: “Many middle-class Alabama children will qualify for publicly funded health insurance starting Oct. 1 because the Legislature is expanding eligibility to cover families of four making up to $66,150 annually. ‘For so many middle-income families, it never entered their minds they would be eligible for a public program,’ Cathy Caldwell, who directs the ALL Kids health insurance program for the state Department of Public Health…”

• State disputes dropout count, By Loren Moreno, September 8, 2009, Honolulu Advertiser: “The state Department of Education has disputed the number of Hawai’i high school dropouts recently reported by a national policy and advocacy organization. The Washington, D.C.-based Alliance for Excellent Education said last week more than 6,202 students from the class of 2009 in Hawai’i dropped out of school before graduation…”
• Tough times for Hawaii dropouts, By Michael Tsai, September 7, 2009, Honolulu Advertiser: “If she didn’t have so much riding on it, Ginger Rivera never would have even opened the door to room H-103. There she was: a 31-year-old high school dropout getting ready to take a General Education Diploma preparatory class with what she figured would be a roomful of teenagers…”
• Report shows negative effects of dropouts on economy, By Lisa Singleton-Rickman, September 7, 2009, Florence Times Daily: “A study by the Alliance for Excellent Education indicates the sobering impact high school dropouts have on the national and state economy. On a national scale, if high school students who dropped out in 2009 had graduated, the economy would have benefited from nearly $335 billion in additional income during the course of their lifetimes, according to the study. If the dropouts in Alabama’s class of 2009 had graduated, it is estimated that the state’s economy would have had another $6.5 billion in additional income during the course of the students’ lifetimes…”
• The cost of not getting a high-school diploma is exorbitant for dropouts, governments and the economy, Editorial, Birmingham News: “Here’s a sobering thought for Labor Day in the midst of a recession. What you don’t know really can hurt you, especially in your pocketbook. Not only do high school dropouts earn less when they do have jobs, they are much more likely to get a pink slip during the current economic downturn. Talk about a double whammy. In July, the national jobless rate was 9.4 percent. For high school dropouts, it was 15.4 percent. High school graduates had a rate of 9.4 percent, while people with some college credits or an associate’s degree had a jobless rate of 7.9 percent. Only 4.7 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher were out of work…”

• Federal Katrina dollars can impact Louisiana’s Medicaid benefits, By Matthew Hamilton, September 7, 2009, Monroe News-Star: “G.B. Cooley chief executive officer Ben Pitts and ARCO executive director Roma Kidd refer to it as Louisiana’s ‘Medicaid cliff.’ In January 2011, a little-known formula will prompt the federal government to slash $1 billion in health care spending for the poorest residents of one of the poorest states in the country. Unless legislators make tough political choices to close the gap, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and Medicaid providers like Pitts and Kidd fear a devastating economic blow and the loss of health care for thousands across the state. The seeds of the crisis were planted in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. After the storm, the federal government pumped billions of dollars into the state, including $5.4 billion in Road Home subsidies. According to the DHH, the cash infusion spiked Louisiana’s per-capita income growth more than 42 percent in Louisiana…”
• Alabama Medicaid rolls jump by 50,000 over two year span, By Kim Chandler, September 7, 2009, Birmingham News: “Alabama Medicaid enrollment jumped by nearly 50,000 people in the past two years, with the largest increase coming in the number of children, teens and pregnant women enrolled. ‘When we’re at double-digit unemployment, it has an effect on the entire safety net,’ said Sen. Roger Bedford, chairman of the Senate General Fund budget committee and a Democrat from Russellville. ‘You see it not only in Medicaid, but also in food stamps.’ Alabama Medicaid Agency spokeswoman Robin Rawls said agency officials believe the economy is likely the cause, and the largest increase is in the program most likely to include working families…”

Food assistance participants increasing, By Russ Corey and Tom Smith, August 23, 2009, Florence Times Daily: “Jenny Kerbs said she doesn’t know how her family would make ends meet without the aid of the Food Assistance Program. ‘I still have to spend extra money, but just on milk and bread,’ she said. ‘I get all my meats and canned vegetables with my food stamps.’ Kerbs receives $163 per month on her electronic benefit transfer card to help offset the expenses of buying groceries for her family. The card is also referred to as EBT. The average monthly benefit for qualified families in the state is $128.54, according to the Alabama Department of Human Resources, and Kerbs is one of a growing number of local residents using EBT cards…”

Alabama Medicaid could add 237,000 to rolls, but money an issue, By Sean Reilly, August 13, 2009, Mobile Press-Register: “At least 237,000 Alabamians could gain health coverage through the state Medicaid program under legislation now moving through Congress, according to an official agency estimate, and the expanded rolls could end up costing state taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year. The estimate, provided at the Press-Register’s request, is based on raising the state’s stringent income eligibility cutoffs to match the federal poverty level, now $18,310 a year for a family of three…”