- 2010 data show surge in poor young families, By Sabrina Tavernise, September 19, 2011, New York Times: “More than one in three young families with children were living in poverty last year, according to an analysis of census data by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. At 37 percent, it was the highest level on record for the group, surpassing the previous peak of 36 percent in 1993, according to the analysis by Ishwar Khatiwada, an economist at the center. By comparison, the rate was about 25 percent in 2000. The economic distress among the country’s youngest families – defined as under the age of 30 – is in contrast to the poverty rate for elderly families, which remained low in 2010, at 5.7 percent, according to the analysis. In the 1970s, poverty was only slightly higher for younger families than for families headed by someone age 65 or over…”
- Some of the faces behind the new US poverty figures; for many it’s first brush with being poor, Associated Press, September 18, 2011, Washington Post: “At a food pantry in a Chicago suburb, a 38-year-old mother of two breaks into tears. She and her husband have been out of work for nearly two years. Their house and car are gone. So is their foothold in the middle class and, at times, their self-esteem. ‘It’s like there is no way out,’ says Kris Fallon. She is trapped like so many others, destitute in the midst of America’s abundance. Last week, the Census Bureau released new figures showing that nearly one in six Americans lives in poverty – a record 46.2 million people. The poverty rate, pegged at 15.1 percent, is the highest of any major industrialized nation, and many experts believe it could get worse before it abates. The numbers are daunting – but they also can seem abstract and numbing without names and faces. Associated Press reporters around the country went looking for the people behind the numbers. They were not hard to find…”
Day: September 20, 2011
State Medicaid Programs – Alabama, Kentucky, Utah
- Legislators: State could save millions if prison officials seek Medicaid funding for inmates, By Sebastian Kitchen, September 19, 2011, Montgomery Advertiser: “Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Alabama, who have not agreed on much in recent months, are questioning why the state prison system is not seeking reimbursement for medical treatment of Medicaid-eligible prisoners — a change they believe could save the state millions during tough economic times. The prison commissioner in Mississippi, Christopher Epps, told the Montgomery Advertiser his state has saved $10 million through the program since implementing it in 2009 and that Mississippi has fewer inmates than Alabama. State legislators have pushed corrections officials and the administrations of Gov. Robert Bentley and former Gov. Bob Riley to adopt the program, in which a vendor qualifies eligible inmates for Medicaid reimbursements…”
- State delays implementation of Medicaid overhaul until Nov. 1, By Beth Musgrave, September 20, 2011, Lexington Herald-Leader: “After hearing concerns from Kentucky hospitals, the state announced this week that it will delay implementing an overhaul of the state’s Medicaid program until Nov. 1. The state announced in July that it was hiring three companies to manage care for 560,000 people on the health insurance program for the poor and disabled. The controversial move is expected to save the state $375 million over the next three years. Managed care was scheduled to begin Oct. 1 in Kentucky…”
- Feds give Utah’s Medicaid overhaul mixed reviews, By Kirsten Stewart, September 19, 2011, Salt Lake Tribune: “Utah’s plan for reforming Medicaid is getting mixed reviews from the Obama administration. Like many states, Utah is looking to redesign its Medicaid program to contain costs. A blueprint submitted in July for federal approval calls for moving Medicaid patients into managed care networks that would pay providers to keep patients healthy, instead of for more tests and treatment. The meat of the proposal – its payment reforms – has been well received, said Utah Medicaid Director Michael Hales. But officials with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have indicated they don’t support a controversial provision that would impose higher co-payments and deductibles on pregnant women and children enrolled in the low-income insurance program…”
Restaurant Meal Program
Fast food and food stamps: Big controversy, small program, By Pamela M. Prah, September 20, 2011, Stateline.org: “The notion that welfare recipients might be able to buy fast food with their food stamps caused a ruckus on blogs and Twitter earlier this month, but some key facts often got muddled. ‘Restaurants want a piece of food stamp pie,’ read the headline of a recent USA Today story that said fast food restaurants ‘are lobbying for a piece of the action’ as the number of businesses approved to accept food stamps grew by a third from 2005 to 2010. The article correctly notes that since the 1970s, states have had the option of creating what the federal government calls a ‘Restaurant Meal Program’ for food stamp recipients. But few states actually have created them. One of the reasons is because eligibility is restricted to the homeless, disabled or elderly who get food stamps. The programs are not open to everyone – a crucial fact that was missed when the story went viral. The point of the restaurant meal program is to help those food stamp recipients who may not be able to cook for themselves or don’t even have a place to cook, explains Aaron Lavallee, a spokesman for the U.S Department of Agriculture. Otherwise, these folks have few options for using their food stamps…”