A sight all too familiar in poor neighborhoods, By Erik Eckholm, February 18, 2010, New York Times: “Shantana Smith, a single mother who had not paid rent for three months, watched on a recent morning as men from Eagle Moving carried her tattered furniture to the sidewalk. Bystanders knew too well what was happening. ‘When you see the Eagle movers truck, you know it’s time to get going,’ a neighbor said. On Milwaukee’s impoverished North Side, the mover’s name is nearly as familiar as McDonald’s, because Eagle often accompanies sheriffs on evictions. They haul tenants’ belongings into storage or, as Ms. Smith preferred, leave them outside for tenants to truck away. Here and in swaths of many cities, evictions from rental properties are so common that they are part of the texture of life. New research is showing that eviction is a particular burden on low-income black women, often single mothers, who have an easier time renting apartments than their male counterparts, but are vulnerable to losing them because their wages or public benefits have not kept up with the cost of housing. And evictions, in turn, can easily throw families into cascades of turmoil and debt…”
Day: February 19, 2010
States and Medicaid Enrollment
- States consider Medicaid cuts as use grows, By Kevin Sack and Robert Pear, February 18, 2010, New York Times: “Facing relentless fiscal pressure and exploding demand for government health care, virtually every state is making or considering substantial cuts in Medicaid, even as Democrats push to add 15 million people to the rolls. Because they are temporarily barred from reducing eligibility, states have been left to cut ‘optional benefits,’ like dental and vision care, and reduce payments to doctors and other health care providers. In some states, governors are trying to avoid the deepest cuts by pushing for increases in tobacco taxes or new levies on hospitals and doctors, but many of those proposals are running into election-year trouble in conservative legislatures…”
- Medicaid enrollment rises nationwide, analysis finds, By Amy Goldstein, February 19, 2010, Washington Post: “The recession has fueled the greatest influx of Americans onto Medicaid since the earliest days of the public insurance program for the poor, according to new findings that show caseloads have surged in every state. More than 3 million people joined Medicaid in the year that ended in June, the data released Thursday show. That pushed enrollment to a record 46.8 million, exacerbating the financial strains on already burdened states and complicating the federal politics of health care. The analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy and research organization, found that in three-fifths of the jurisdictions, including Maryland and the District, people rushed into the safety net for health coverage at more than twice the rate as the year before…”
- Medicaid enrollment climbs, By Richard Wolf, February 18, 2010, USA Today: “More than half the states are reducing Medicaid services and payments to health care providers this year as the recession propelled enrollments to record levels and sapped money from treasuries. Governors who will meet with President Obama this weekend have taken some actions to close budget deficits. Arizona froze enrollment in its Children’s Health Insurance Program. California plans to close adult day health care centers next month. Nevada is cutting coverage for eyeglasses, dentures and hearing aids…”
- Report: Without more federal help, states will likely cut Medicaid, By David Goldstein, February 18, 2010, Kansas City Star: “Unless Congress bails them out, states probably will have to cut health coverage for low-income families and others without insurance, a new report says. Lawmakers included higher Medicaid reimbursement funds for states in last year’s economic stimulus bill, but the money will expire Dec. 31. Without an extension, most states won’t be able to ensure that eligible Medicaid beneficiaries will be served, according to Families USA, a nonpartisan health advocacy group, which issued the report Thursday…”
State Cuts to Programs for the Poor – Virginia, California, Minnesota
- Va gov seeks deep cuts to schools, social services, By Bob Lewis (AP), February 17, 2010, Daily Press: “Gov. Bob McDonnell has proposed deep, unprecedented cuts to public schools, the state government work force and health and welfare safety net programs in a $2.1 billion bid to balance a critically troubled state budget. The Republican governor, who ruled out any tax boosts before he took office a month ago, sent shock waves across a General Assembly struggling with its own budget plans and through teachers, state workers…”
- Proposed cuts would end California assistance for most new legal immigrants, By Alexandra Zavis and Anna Gorman, February 16, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest proposals to close California’s budget shortfall would end public assistance for most new legal immigrants, eliminating emergency cash, food and medical aid for those who don’t yet qualify for federal welfare. The proposal would represent an about-face for the state. In 1996, Congress denied access to welfare for most legal immigrants who weren’t citizens. California and other states established programs to fill the gap. Now, officials say the state can’t afford the price tag. Schwarzenegger’s plan would save $304 million but leave tens of thousands of elderly, disabled and impoverished people with no safety net in a deep recession…”
- Advocates: Grants program can’t replace Pawlenty’s proposed cuts to the poor, By Madeleine Baran, February 18, 2010, Minnesota Public Radio: ” Thousands of Minnesota’s poorest residents still stand to lose their only source of income if Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s budget passes, despite a new welfare program the governor said would replace it. The state’s department of human services today unveiled more information about a new program offering short-term grants that Pawlenty said would offset his proposed cuts. Low-income adults could access the crisis program only once per year, unlike the current program, which provides up to $203 a month…”
- Votes, then a veto, for health care, By Warren Wolfe and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, February 19, 2010, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “Acting with bipartisan force and unusual speed, the Minnesota Legislature voted overwhelmingly Thursday to extend a health insurance program that covers Minnesota’s poorest and sickest citizens — only to find Gov. Tim Pawlenty waiting at the end of the day with a veto. Pawlenty issued his veto from Washington, D.C., where he was preparing for a major political conference. The day’s events only escalated an emotional showdown among the governor, legislators and health care advocates over General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC), a program seen as a key safety net covering 35,000 poor adults in a typical month…”