Cuts in public dental benefits add to health risks for California’s poor, By Matt Kawahara, June 19, 2010, Sacramento Bee: ” Emma Snuggs’ smile is still a white flash of straight teeth, though it has been nearly two years since she last had money to visit a dentist. ‘You have to choose the necessities,’ said Snuggs, 26. On Monday afternoon, though, she watched as her son Michael Hunsaker, 7, had his teeth checked at the Sacramento Native American Health Center on J Street. Michael is covered by Denti-Cal, the dental arm of the state’s public insurance program, Medi-Cal. Snuggs, a single mother and a student at Sacramento City College, is on Medi-Cal as well. But last July the state cut dental services for adults in a move that was expected to save $115 million…”
Day: June 23, 2010
State Budgets and Medicaid Costs
- State to expand Medicaid coverage to single adults, By Matthew Sturdevant, June 21, 2010, Hartford Courant: “Connecticut will save $53 million in the next year by shifting the cost of medical care for about 45,000 low-income single adults from a state program to federal Medicaid. Connecticut on Monday became the first state in the U.S. to take advantage of federal healthcare reform laws passed in March expanding Medicaid services to low-income single adults who don’t have children…”
- Medicaid expansion to cost Ohioans $1.45 billion, By Catherine Candisky, June 17, 2010, Columbus Dispatch: “The sharp Medicaid expansion under the new federal health-care law will cost Ohio taxpayers $1.45 billion from 2014 through 2019, according to projections released to The Dispatch today by the state. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services estimates that Medicaid – which currently insures nearly 2.1 million poor and disabled Ohioans – will grow by 554,000 people beginning in the 2014 fiscal year. Half of the new enrollees are already eligible for coverage but not enrolled and expected to sign up during a renewed marketing effort, state officials say. The cost estimates were the first by the state since President Barack Obama signed the sweeping overhaul into law in March…”
- Colorado delays Medicaid payments, By Jennifer Brown, June 17, 2010, Denver Post: “Temporarily short on money, Colorado has declared a fiscal emergency and delayed payments to doctors and clinics taking care of the state’s neediest patients. Under state law, the Medicaid department can delay reimbursements to doctors, hospitals and clinics during a fiscal emergency. Physicians treating patients with the health-insurance plan for the poor will not receive normally scheduled payments on June 25 or July 2, a hardship for safety-net clinics in particular that rely on public funds. State officials said they would begin catching up on payments July 9 after a new fiscal year begins…”