- 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…”
Day: September 8, 2009
Health Care Reform and Subsidies
For Marylanders, insurance affordability will depend on subsidies, By Kelly Brewington, September 7, 2009, Baltimore Sun: “Even if lawmakers can agree on how to overhaul the nation’s health care system, the hope of universal coverage could crumble if individuals can’t afford their share. Take Howard County. Less than five months into an innovative program to give low-income people access to medical care for as little as $50 a month, nearly one in 10 participants is at risk of being cut off because they can no longer afford the cost. Howard officials say their fledgling program, called the Healthy Howard Access Plan, provides a cautionary lesson for federal policymakers battling over how to re-imagine the nation’s health care system and extend insurance to some 47 million Americans. While the major congressional proposals would require that nearly everyone have insurance or pay a penalty, low-income people could qualify for subsidies to help cover the cost of premiums. But lawmakers are wrangling over who would get financial help – and how much. If the subsidies fall short, millions of Americans could continue to struggle without health insurance, say advocates for the uninsured. Besides, if people in Howard County – among the richest localities in the nation – can’t manage $50 a month, how could those struggling elsewhere afford the plans under consideration in Washington that would require a much higher out-of-pocket cost?…”
Retailers Accepting Food Stamps
More stores are accepting food stamps, By Kristen Mack, September 8, 2009, Chicago Tribune: “Joanna Gugudan hesitated as she picked a box of brownies off the shelf at Aldi. ‘I can’t believe I can buy this,’ she recalled thinking during her first grocery shopping trip in a month. Her family had been relying on food pantry rations. But this time, she swiped her electric-blue Illinois Link food stamp card to cover the $74.50 tab. Gugudan is among a record number of consumers relying on government aid to pay for groceries because of the economic downturn. And that flood of participants has persuaded retailers who never before accepted food stamps to join the program. More than 35.1 million Americans received food stamps in June, up 22 percent over June 2008, according to data released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was the seventh straight month that participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program increased. The trend also is reflected in Illinois, where 17.6 percent more households received assistance in July compared with a year ago, the Illinois Department of Human Services said…”