- Study: Even with more kids in poverty, number of uninsured children fell 14% over 3 years, Associated Press, November 29, 2011, Washington Post: “Even with more children living in poverty because of the rough economy, the number of children without health insurance in the U.S. has dropped by 1 million in the past three years, according to a report released Tuesday by Georgetown University. Many states have expanded eligibility for, and simplified access to, the children’s Medicaid program. This has helped shrink the number of uninsured children from 6.9 million in 2008 to 5.9 million in 2010. Experts say the Affordable Care Act, the federal health care overhaul that requires states to maintain income eligibility levels and discourages other barriers to coverage, has played a key role in the improvement…”
- Safety-net programs insure more Texas children, By Todd Ackerman, November 29, 2011, Houston Chronicle: “Houston-area children’s health insurance is increasingly being provided by government safety-net programs as employers cut jobs and benefits, according to a new study. The survey, sponsored by Texas Children’s Hospital, found that in the last three years, area children’s enrollment in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program doubled as coverage through work-based plans decreased significantly. This shift comes in a state known for not embracing government health programs…”
- Number of uninsured Minnesota kids climbs, By Jeremy Olson, November 29, 2011, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “The number of children without health insurance rose sharply in the past two years in Minnesota, making it the only state to see a significant increase since 2008, according to a report released Tuesday. Uninsured Minnesota kids totaled 84,000, although that number could fall again as a result of changes enacted by the Legislature in 2009. The uninsured rate rose from 5.8 to 6.6 percent. While Minnesota’s rate remains better than the national average of 8 percent, the state is no longer among the nation’s best…”
- Utah lags behind other states in covering kids, By Kirsten Stewart, November 29, 2011, Salt Lake Tribune: “Even as unemployment and child poverty has grown, the uninsured rate for children nationally – and in Utah – has shrunk, an analysis of census data shows. From 2008 to 2010 the number of American children living in poverty rose 19 percent, while the number of uninsured children fell 14 percent, according to a report released Tuesday by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. How, given the high cost of health care, is this possible? Two words, say Georgetown researchers: Medicaid and CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program…”
Month: November 2011
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program – Maine
Federal cuts give Maine a chill as winter approaches, By Abby Goodnough, November 27, 2011, New York Times: “Michele Hodges works six days a week but still cannot afford a Maine winter’s worth of heat for her trailer in Corinth, a tiny town where snowmobiles can outnumber cars. Ms. Hodges and her two teenage daughters qualified for federal heating assistance last year, but their luck might have run out. President Obama has proposed sharply cutting the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and Maine is at this point expecting less than half of the $55.6 million that it received last winter, even as more people are applying. The average state benefit last year was about $800 for the season; now it may be closer to $300. Eligibility requirements have tightened too, and with oil prices climbing – the average in Maine was $3.66 a gallon last week, up from $2.87 a year ago – many here are anticipating days or weeks of forgoing heat…”
Economic Security Index
More than 1 in 5 Americans are economically insecure, By Tami Luhby, November 28, 2011, CNNMoney.com: “More than one in five Americans saw at least a quarter of their available household income vanish in the Great Recession, yet lacked a sufficient financial cushion, according to a report released Monday. The situation has left them economically insecure, according to the report, which updates an Economic Security Index created by Jacob Hacker, a political science professor at Yale. More than 20% of the nation was in this condition in the three years spanning 2008 to 2010, a sharp increase from 14.3% in 1986. Some 62 million Americans faced economic insecurity last year. The Great Recession is also prompting deep losses among the insecure, with the median drop in income for this group hitting a record 46.4% in 2009…”