- Crushed by Medicaid costs, states expand managed care, By Christine Vestal, February 4, 2011, Stateline.org: “Last week, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a health care reform bill that will dramatically change the way many Medicaid patients receive care. The bill aims to push half of Illinois’ Medicaid caseload into the hands of managed care organizations by 2015. Illinois has a long way to go to reach that goal: Only 8 percent of Medicaid patients in the state receive care this way now. When he signed the bill, Quinn promised the reforms would reduce the state’s Medicaid costs by as much as $774 million over the next five years. The savings is supposed to come from shifting from a system in which the Illinois Medicaid program generally pays doctors for each service they provide, to one where the state pays insurers a set rate per year for each patient. Quinn also said Medicaid patients will see their health care services improve because insurers would be responsible for more carefully coordinating patient care to reduce avoidable hospitalizations and worsening of chronic conditions. Illinois is late to the managed care phenomenon – on average, states already have moved 46 percent of their Medicaid caseloads into managed care. But in a year of tight budgets and rising health care costs, Illinois is only one of many states turning to the managed care model to squeeze savings out of Medicaid, which now consumes 22 percent of state budgets. This year, at least a dozen states are expanding managed care for Medicaid, the state-run health insurance program for low income children, pregnant women, the disabled and frail elders…”
- Governors get advice for saving on Medicaid, By Robert Pear, February 3, 2011, New York Times: “Fearing wholesale cuts in Medicaid by states with severe budget problems, the Obama administration told governors on Thursday how they could save money by selectively and judiciously reducing benefits, curbing overuse of costly prescription drugs and attacking fraud. However, the administration refused to say whether it would allow states to adopt stricter eligibility standards that would, in effect, throw low-income people off the Medicaid rolls and eliminate their insurance coverage. Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said she was still studying that question. Governors said the ideas, though constructive, were not nearly enough. They said they wanted waivers of some federal requirements and relief from Congress, and they noted that the new health care law would greatly increase Medicaid rolls in 2014…”
Day: February 4, 2011
January 2011 US Unemployment
- In a snowy January, job numbers fail to take off, By Motoko Rich, February 4, 2011, New York Times: “The United States labor market is still having trouble achieving liftoff. Payrolls expanded by 36,000 jobs in January, a sharp decline from recent months and well below consensus forecasts. But the picture painted by the Department of Labor’s monthly snapshot of the job market was confounded by a drop in the unemployment rate to 9 percent, the lowest it has been since April 2009. That was mainly because that rate is calculated using a different survey than the payroll data. Payrolls expanded by 36,000 jobs in January, a sharp decline from recent months and well below consensus forecasts…”
- Unemployment rate plunges to 9% in January, but only 36,000 jobs added, By Neil Irwin, February 4, 2011, Washington Post: “Job creation came nearly to a halt in January, yet the unemployment rate plummeted to 9 percent, according to a new report that gives a muddled picture of the state of the labor market. Employers added 36,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday, far fewer than the 145,000 economists had forecast and the weakest month of job creation since September. The surprisingly low numbers suggested that last month’s snowstorms probably kept people from looking for work…”
- Job growth remains sluggish, though unemployment drops to 9%, By Don Lee, February 4, 2011, Los Angeles Times: “U.S. employers added a paltry 36,000 jobs in January, partly because of bad weather and partly because many employers remain reluctant to hire despite a strengthening economic recovery. Even so, the nation’s unemployment rate fell dramatically for the second month in a row, the government said Friday. It dropped to 9% in January, the lowest since April 2009. In December, the jobless figure was 9.4%, and it was 9.8% in November. Some analysts attributed the unusually large rate drop more to a statistical fluke than substantive gains in hiring…”
Funding for Social Services – Hawaii
Social service funding dries up, By Kristen Consillio, February 4, 2011, Honolulu Star Advertiser: “Social service programs for the state’s most needy population will terminate on April 1 to save the Department of Human Services $84 million over the next two years and three months. The department is facing a $116 million budget deficit and will eliminate funding for 41 children, youth and family programs such as Read Aloud America, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Institute for Human Services. Patricia McManaman, interim human services director, said the department decided to cut funding for the services under the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program so it could keep intact job training and welfare programs…”