- Medicaid measure clears Florida House, By Marc Caputo, April 20, 2010, Miami Herald: “Large HMOs will have more power than ever in Florida’s growing Medicaid program under a major health-reform package that cleared the House on Monday. The goals are lofty: Stop rampant fraud, reduce skyrocketing costs and improve healthcare for the almost 2.8 million poor, elderly and catastrophically sick Floridians served by Medicaid. The success of the bill hinges on the philosophy that private companies do a better job managing public health benefits than the government or individual Medicaid providers, who see patients on a pay-as-you go basis in what is known as a ‘fee for service’ system. By largely ending fee-for-service, the proposal so fundamentally changes Medicaid that almost every lobby — hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, homes for the developmentally disabled, pharmacists — has voiced concerns…”
- Fla. House ignores own analysts who warn of pushing elderly to managed care, By Stephen Nohlgren, April 20, 2010, St. Petersburg Times: “Elderly Floridians who want to stay out of nursing homes would be forced into managed care under two bills passed Monday by the House in an effort to pare Medicaid costs. But the Legislature’s own policy analysts suggest that managed care may be more expensive for frail older people, based on the track record of HMOs. A recent report examined a managed care program that provides home health care, housekeeping and many other at-home services, as well as assisted living when necessary. It did keep people out of nursing homes but was more expensive than two traditional programs, run by not-for-profit agencies, that cover the same services. The state could save by beefing up the traditional programs, the analysts said. The House bills would do just the opposite – wiping out the traditional programs and putting elderly clients into managed care…”
Day: April 20, 2010
Child Poverty in New England
Aid programs cut as child poverty rises, By Larry Cow, April 18, 2010, Citizen of Laconia: “Helping children out of poverty isn’t just a feel-good measure, it’s an investment, according to Dean Crocker, the president of the Maine Children’s Alliance. The need for investment – from government and private sources – is growing. According to the 2010 Maine Kids Count Report, compiled by the Maine Children’s Alliance and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, child poverty in the state continues to rise. Combating child poverty is ‘a critical investment in the economy,’ Crocker said. ‘We just need everyone to understand that.’ According to the report, which tracked trends in 2008, the number of pre-school aged children living in households below the poverty threshold was at 21.8 percent in 2008, up from 19.4 percent the previous year. Meanwhile, the national rate for children under 5 living in poverty is at 21.2 percent. The federal poverty level for a two-parent family of four was $21,834 for 2008; families earning less are identified as living in poverty. The report also found that 38 percent of children in the state live in a low-income household, defined as a family that makes less than twice the federal poverty threshold. In New Hampshire, 9 percent of children were identified as living in poverty according to that state’s 2009 Kids Count, the latest available. New Granite State data is due to be published later this year…”
Teenage Homelessness – Minnesota
Out at home: Teenage homelessness on the rise, By Paul Levy, April 19, 2010, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “Suddenly, homeless teenagers are all over the Twin Cities — cities and suburbs alike — sleeping in port-a-potties and cars, camping under bridges or riding buses all night. ‘Part of it is the economy, but we’re also doing a better job of identifying who is homeless,’ said Karrie Schaaf, considered a state expert on youth homelessness in the metro area. ‘And now that times are hard economically, they’re coming out of the woodwork.’ Some are children of economically stressed families that have been forced to double up with other families; they simply don’t have room to house older kids, said Schaaf, youth director for the Emma B. Howe Family YMCA in Coon Rapids. Others were evicted from their homes on their 18th birthdays by struggling families facing foreclosure, said Judy Johnson, housing supervisor in Anoka County. In Minnesota, the number of 18- to 21-year-olds in shelters more than doubled in the past three years, rising from 455 in 2006 to 987 last October, the Minnesota Department of Human Services said. In Anoka County, the homeless 18-21 population doubled in the past year alone, according to a January survey…”