Health coverage at risk for working poor in Pa., By Don Sapatkin, November 17, 2010, Philadelphia Inquirer: “An affordable health-insurance program for low-income working people that was started by Gov. Tom Ridge and expanded under Gov. Rendell is projected to run out of money within weeks after Gov.-elect Corbett takes office, administration officials said. Contractual obligations mean that insurance-termination notices may need to go to tens of thousands of subscribers in the program, known as adultBasic, even before the new governor is sworn in, if more than $50 million is not found before then, they said. As attorney general, Corbett joined a lawsuit seeking to overturn President Obama’s health-care overhaul. The opposition was based on the mandate that individuals and many businesses sign up or pay a fine, said Kevin Harley, a spokesman for the transition. The governor-elect said during the campaign that he supported plans to continue funding the state program at least through the fiscal year that ends June 30…”
With Medicaid waiver, California dives into health care reform, By Christine Vestal, November 19, 2010, Stateline.org: “Nearly missed in the noise from newly elected politicians vowing to upend the Obama administration’s health care reform law was a federal decision allowing California to start implementing it – and improve its fiscal situation in the process. On Election Day, California got word it would receive $10 billion in federal Medicaid money to extend coverage to some 500,000 people who are currently uninsured. The initiative means the nation’s most populous state will dive right into the new health law’s biggest challenge: providing coverage for low-income adults who are not eligible for Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor. The plan, which the state calls a ‘bridge to reform,’ is also designed to bolster the state’s safety-net hospitals, as well as lower overall health care costs. Under the Nov. 2 agreement – a waiver of standard Medicaid rules aimed at allowing states to test innovative new programs – California promised to shave $2 billion per year from its existing Medicaid bill by streamlining care for its highest-cost recipients: seniors, adults with disabilities and children with severe illnesses. The federal government agreed to give California $2 billion per year in return…”
Maine Republicans say they will end ‘Dirigo’ health care experiment, By Pamela M. Prah, November 17, 2010, Stateline.org: “Before there was a federal health care overhaul, and before there was a Massachusetts law to use as a model for the national plan, there was Dirigo. That’s what Maine called its first-in-the-nation attempt at achieving universal health coverage when Democrats approved the plan back in 2003. Now, the Maine program may be one of the first casualties of the Republican landslide in state capitals. Maine’s incoming governor, Paul LePage, pledged during the campaign to ‘repeal and replace’ the plan, which is Latin for ‘I lead’ and is the state’s motto. Republicans also took control of the Maine House and Senate, making the state one of only two to flip from total Democratic control to total control by Republicans (Wisconsin was the other)…”
12th-grade reading and math scores rise slightly after a historic low in 2005, By Sam Dillon, November 18, 2010, New York Times: “Reading scores for the nation’s 12th-grade students have increased somewhat since they dropped to a historic low in 2005, according to results of the largest federal test, released Thursday. Average math scores also ticked upward. Experts said the increases, after years of dismal achievement reports, were surprising because every year the nation’s schools are educating more black and Hispanic students, who on average score lower than whites and Asians. The black-white achievement gap dates back more than a century, though researchers debate why it persists. Researchers presume that language barriers pull down scores for Hispanics…”
12th grade students still below ’92 reading scores, By Christine Armario (AP), November 18, 2010, Washington Post: “A national education assessment released Thursday shows that high school seniors have made some improvement in reading, but remain below the achievement levels reached nearly two decades ago. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, referred to at the Nation’s Report Card, tested 52,000 students in reading and 49,000 in math across 1,670 school districts in 2009. Students scored an average of 288 out of 500 points in reading comprehension, two points above the 2005 score but still below the 1992 average of 292. Thirty-eight percent of 12th grade students were classified as at or above the ‘proficient’ level, while 74 percent were considered at or above ‘basic…'”
Jobless-benefits bill rejected, By Janet Hook and Martin Vaughn, November 19, 2010, Wall Street Journal: “House Republicans Thursday torpedoed a bill to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed, pressing their demand that the $12 billion cost of the program be offset rather than adding to the deficit. In a defeat for Democrats trying to keep the program from expiring Nov. 30, the House rejected a bill to continue the program for three more months. Lawmakers in both parties expect a compromise eventually to be reached-but not until December, after the current program expires. Without an extension, 800,000 unemployed workers will lose their benefits by Nov. 30 and two million by the end of December. The unemployment aid is just one of many issues before the lame duck Congress that are confounding President Barack Obama and congressional leaders. Others include the fate of the Bush-era tax cuts due to expire Dec. 31 and a funding mechanism to keep the government running after a stop-gap appropriations bill expires Dec. 3…”
Filibuster blocks U.S. aid for jobless, By Ann Belser, November 19, 2010, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “On the same day the state reported that there were still 560,000 unemployed Pennsylvanians in October, congressional Republicans blocked a measure that would have reauthorized the national extension of unemployment benefits. The state’s Department of Labor and Industry announced Thursday afternoon that the unemployment rate last month dropped to 8.8 percent, the same level as January, as Pennsylvania gained nearly 16,000 nonfarm jobs. Reauthorization of unemployment benefits would have allowed states to pay unemployment compensation past the standard 26 weeks up to 99 weeks, as they have been doing since early in the recession…”
House GOP blocks extension of jobless benefits, By Lisa Mascaro, November 18, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “House Republicans voted Thursday to deny an extension of unemployment benefits for jobless Americans and tried to cut off public funding for National Public Radio, moves that reinforced the GOP’s direction following its midterm election gains. The votes were not necessarily new tactics, as Republicans have generally opposed extending unemployment insurance unless it is paid for with federal spending cuts elsewhere, and have pledged to take weekly votes to cut federal spending. But the two House votes, within hours of each other as lawmakers prepared to recess for a Thanksgiving break, provided an example of the agenda to come when the GOP takes control of the chamber in January…”
EPI: Extending federal unemployment benefits through 2011 could generate the equivalent of 700,000 jobs, By Jackie Headapohl, November 9, 2010, MLive.com: “Not only do unemployment benefits assist the unemployed, they also boost spending in the economy and generate jobs, according to a brief from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. The brief states that extending unemployment insurance benefits through 2011 would generate more than 700,000 full-time-equivalent jobs while saving millions from poverty…”
CBO: Unemployment benefits prevented record poverty rate in 2009, By Arthur Delaney, November 17, 2010, Huffington Post: “Extended unemployment insurance put in place to fight the recession prevented the poverty rate from rising to 15.4 percent in 2009, a level unseen since the 1960s, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The government announced in September that that the 2009 poverty rate had risen to 14.3 percent from 13.2 percent the previous year…”
