Cost of state’s Medicaid program rises 140% since 1998, report says, By Patrick Marley, December 18, 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The cost of the state’s safety-net health programs have more than doubled over the past 11 years, a review by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance has found. The cost of Medicaid jumped from $2.51 billion in fiscal 1998 to $6.05 billion in fiscal 2009 – a more than 140% increase, the nonprofit group said in a report released Friday. During that time, enrollment in the program nearly tripled, to more than 1 million people. The details come as the state Department of Health Services considers how to save $1 billion in the program because of soaring enrollment and lower tax revenue…”
Oregon health care on life line, By William McCall (AP), December 28, 2009, Salem Statesman Journal: “Of the $1.27 billion Oregon is getting in federal stimulus money for health and human services, most of it – $833 million – is going to people whose medical benefits are paid by the Oregon Health Plan. The stimulus money has made it possible for Oregon to meet unprecedented increases in demand for health care services at a time when state revenues were falling, said Dr. Bruce Goldberg, director of the Oregon Department of Human Services. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding has boosted the number of people on the plan to about 460,000 and allowed the state to handle a caseload that has increased about 15 percent without reducing benefits to existing patients…”
Energy aid requests at record high, By Ruth Longoria Kingsland, December 30, 2009, Peoria Journal Star: “The number of low-income people needing energy assistance reached record highs in 2009, for the second year in a row, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. About 6.1 million people required help with heating and cooling bills in 2008, and 8.3 million received help in 2009. In Illinois, the numbers also saw a big increase. Households helped with heating costs by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program went from 319,828 in 2008 to 415,669 in 2009. Add in the cooling increase from 56,080 in 2008 to 63,746 in 2009 and you have an overall heating and cooling increase of 27.5 percent, or 103,507 more households requiring assistance, the NEADA data shows…”
More people seek help with heating bills, By Erik Ortiz, January 6, 2010, Press of Atlantic City: “While temperatures eclipsed 30 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, Robert Seligman relaxed in his Hammonton home with the thermostat at a pleasant 74. But an incessant string of chilly days and chillier nights had him concerned about whether he can pay his heating oil bill through the winter. ‘I’m 73. I got to live as comfortable as possible,’ said Seligman, wearing a flannel shirt on top of a sweater and T-shirt. Seligman is one of hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents who rely on grants each year to help cover their energy bills. But with demand expected to surpass that of a year ago – and only so much funding available – more people could face the threat of a winter without any heat…”
