Arizona drops children’s health program, By Kevin Sack, March 18, 2010, New York Times: “Arizona on Thursday became the first state to eliminate its Children’s Health Insurance Program when Gov. Jan Brewer signed an austere budget that will leave nearly 47,000 low-income children without coverage. The Arizona budget is a vivid reflection of how the fiscal crisis afflicting state governments is cutting deeply into health care. The state also will roll back Medicaid coverage for childless adults in a move that is expected to eventually drop 310,000 people from the rolls. State leaders said they were left with few choices because of a $2.6 billion projected shortfall next year. But hospital officials and advocates for low-income people said they were worried that emergency rooms would be overrun by patients who had few other options for care, and that children might suffer enduring developmental problems because of inadequate medical attention. The cuts also mean the state will forgo hundreds of millions of dollars in federal matching aid, and could lose far more if Congress passes a health bill that requires states to maintain eligibility levels for the two programs…”
Day: March 19, 2010
All-day Kindergarten – Arizona
Cuts to all-day kindergarten big problem for schools, parents, By Pat Kossan, March 19, 2010, Arizona Republic: “Arizona’s experiment with free full-day kindergarten is over. State lawmakers last week permanently cut the funding that made the programs possible in many schools, and now parents, public-school districts and charter schools around the state are struggling to find ways to keep them going. It’s likely some all-day kindergarten programs will close permanently, some will stay open with a bare-bones staff, and others will be available only to parents who are willing to pay out of pocket for the full-day curriculum. All-day kindergarten had a bumpy phased-in start that began in 2005; its demise came quickly last Friday when lawmakers cut the $218 million in program funding as part of their budget-balancing efforts. When classes start this fall, it means that once again the state will pay only for half-day kindergarten sessions; the extra cost of a full day will likely have to be borne by parents or property-tax payers…”
College Financial Aid
Bill proposes increased aid to the needy for college, By Tamar Lewin, March 18, 2010, New York Times: “The federal government would provide $36 billion in new financing for Pell grants to needy students over the next 10 years under legislation announced Thursday by Congressional Democrats. The maximum annual Pell grant would rise to $5,975 by 2017, from $5,350 this year. The new Pell initiative includes $13.5 billion to cover a shortfall caused by the sharp increase in the number of Americans enrolling in college during the recession. Congress would pay for the larger grants by ending subsidies to private banks that make student loans and shifting to direct federal lending. But the amount going to education spending and aid for college students is far less than the Obama administration had hoped, largely because the savings from the switch to direct federal lending is now estimated to be $61 billion, rather than $87 billion…”