- Advocates for low income, disabled fear new Medicaid rules, By Nancy Hicks, June 13, 2010, Lincoln Journal Star: “Advocates for low-income people and those with disabilities fear the two companies that will provide health services to about 90,000 Nebraskans will focus on the bottom line, not the health needs of clients. The advocates testified at a public hearing last week on new rules that will apply to the Medicaid program for most people in 10 eastern Nebraska counties. The state has contracted with Coventry and UnitedHealthcare (its Share Advantage Plan), under what are called at-risk or full-risk managed care plans. The two companies will be paid a set amount per client, based on the age and needs of the client. The private company takes the risk and covers the cost if services for its clients cost more than the state’s payment…”
- Medicaid stop-smoking program gets $1.5 million in budget, By Deborah Yetter, June 12, 2010, Louisville Courier-Journal: “Health advocates say Kentucky’s bleak budget has one bright spot — it funds a long-sought program to help people on Medicaid stop smoking. Lawmakers allocated $1.5 million a year for the next two fiscal years that, combined with additional federal matching money, will give Medicaid officials about $11 million for the program. ‘We’re thrilled it finally got the funding,’ said Amy Barkley of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, one of several groups that had lobbied the legislature to fund the program. ‘Everybody agreed it was kind of a no-brainer. People can quit smoking if they are given the appropriate tools.’ Lawmakers authorized the project in 2007 but never funded it because of the tight state budget. But advocates kept lobbying for funding. They argued that the state’s increasingly costly Medicaid program, which provides health care for nearly 800,000 low-income and disabled Kentuckians, could save money it now spends to treat smoking-related diseases…”
Day: June 14, 2010
Cellular Phone Service and the Poor
Advocates say poor need available free cell phones, By Alfred Lubrano, June 14, 2010, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Should the poor have cell phones? It’s a question that has engaged both ends of the political spectrum since 2004, when the conservative Heritage Foundation published a controversial paper saying the poor enjoy ‘high living standards’ and cited as proof that many have cell phones, among other things. In rebuttal, advocates for the poor have argued that cell phones are not luxuries but necessities, as basic to modern life as electricity. Complicating the debate these days is a new development: free cell phones for the poor and working poor distributed by a Miami wireless company. They’re paid for, in part, by charges on phone bills that the federal government allows carriers to levy. It’s a little-known collaboration between the federal government and phone carriers, devised by the Reagan administration 26 years ago…”
Welfare Reform – Ontario, CA
Ontario should adopt bold vision for welfare reform, By Laurie Monsebraaten, June 14, 2010, Toronto Star: “Ontario should adopt a bold vision for welfare reform that includes new income supports and services for all low-income residents, says a government-appointed panel in a report being released Monday. ‘We are currently investing billions into federal and provincial programs that too often trap people in poverty and fail to offer alternatives to social assistance,’ said Gail Nyberg of the Daily Bread Food Bank who chaired the panel of anti-poverty experts. ‘Tinkering with a broken system will not lead to different outcomes. It’s time to unleash a bold review,’ she said. Social Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur appointed the panel last December to advise the government on the scope and terms of reference for a review of social assistance, promised in 2008 as part of the Liberals’ anti-poverty strategy…”