Judge allows cuts to health care coverage for poor Arizonans, By Howard Fischer, August 10, 2011, East Valley Tribune: “A judge gave the go-ahead Wednesday for the state to deny free health care over the next year to about 135,000 poor people. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Mark Brain acknowledged that voters mandated in 2000 that the state must provide care for everyone below the federal poverty level. And the Voter Protection Act, a provision of the Arizona Constitution, prohibits lawmakers from altering or repealing anything approved by voters without taking the issue back to the ballot. But Brain said that does not preclude lawmakers from refusing to provide enough money to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid program, to cover everyone who is eligible to enroll…”
Day: August 11, 2011
Safety-net Health Care – Massachusetts
Demand for safety-net care remains high in Massachusetts, By Noam N. Levey, August 8, 2011, Los Angeles Times: “Massachusetts, whose 2006 healthcare overhaul provided a template for the landmark national law signed by President Obama last year, has already demonstrated that it is possible to achieve almost universal health coverage. Now, the trailblazing state is providing another clue about what may happen when the federal government begins guaranteeing health insurance for all citizens starting in 2014. Massachusetts community health centers and so-called safety-net hospitals – originally created to serve the poor and uninsured – have seen no let-up in demand, even after the state’s reforms, according to new research published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine…”
Poverty and Obesity – Mississippi
Tackling obesity amid poverty in a Mississippi county, By Debbie Elliott, August 9, 2011, National Public Radio: “The average life expectancy for men in Holmes County, Miss., is 65 years. That’s a full decade shorter than the U.S. average. So what’s killing people there? Researchers say it’s no coincidence that Holmes County is also one of Mississippi’s poorest, and most obese. Forty-two percent of the county’s residents are considered obese. Calvin Head, the county’s former transportation director, doesn’t have to see the statistics on paper. He saw the problem first hand: The school buses were overcrowded, but there were not more students…”