- Maine Governor LePage backs nation’s toughest Medicaid cuts, By Christine Vestal, February 6, 2012, Stateline.org: “Medicaid spending is a matter of urgency almost everywhere in the country right now, but in few places is the urgency as palpable as it is here, where the governor refers to the federal-state health insurance program for the poor as ‘welfare,’ says it’s necessary to eliminate coverage for 65,000 adults, and wants to stop paying room and board for some 2,000 elders who live in group homes. All these ideas are part of Republican Governor Paul LePage’s plan to close a $220 million hole in the state’s biennial Medicaid budget. ‘If we are to bring our welfare system to a manageable level that Maine can afford,’ LePage insists, ‘we must make the necessary structural changes … The state can no longer use gimmicks to fill the hole.’ The size of Maine’s Medicaid shortfall is substantial, but it pales in comparison to gaps in many other states. In fact, health experts in Maine say the program has survived far bigger shortfalls in recent years without cutting the rolls. Still, LePage argues that the program can no longer provide a ‘free lunch’ to poor 19- and 20-year olds, or to healthy adults responsible for the care of others…”
- Obama administration rejects Medi-Cal copayments, By Judy Lin (AP), San Francisco Chronicle: “Federal health officials on Monday said California cannot force Medi-Cal recipients to make a co-pay for doctor visits and prescription drugs, a decision that brings relief to low-income patients but complicates the state’s effort to close a $9.2 billion budget deficit. A letter from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said agency officials were ‘unable to identify the legal and policy support’ for the state’s request. The decision is the latest in a string of legal and regulatory challenges that have made it difficult for the state to reduce spending and balance its budget. Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers were planning to save $511 million a year in the health insurance program by requiring low-income patients to pay a share of their medical costs…”
Day: February 7, 2012
High School Graduation Rate – Indiana
- Indiana’s graduation rate is up; so is waiver use, By Scott Elliott, February 7, 2012, Indianapolis Star: “The graduation rate at Indianapolis Public Schools gained for the fifth straight year, to 64 percent, but at some schools, many of those graduates earned diplomas without passing state exams. Those IPS graduates were not alone last school year. The statewide use of waivers – exempting students from the requirement to pass state tests in English and algebra – has been creeping up, reaching 8 percent last year. Five percent of Indiana graduates used waivers in 2005. Factors playing into that trend include pressure on schools to achieve good state ratings, the difficulty of new high school end-of-course exams students are required to pass, and the use of alternative programs that aim to keep kids in school by letting them make up credits on the side…”
- Indiana’s rate of graduation at record 85%, By Devon Haynie, February 7, 2012, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “Indiana’s graduation rate improved to 85.7 percent in the 2010-11 school year, breaking state records and increasing by 1.6 percentage points over last year. The graduation rate is the highest Indiana has achieved since the state began measuring the four-year cohort graduation rate in 2005, according to the Indiana Department of Education, which publicly released the data today. A record-high 171 public schools reached 90 percent or more of their students graduating in four years. In 2009, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett listed a 90 percent gradation rate as one of his primary goals for most Indiana schools…”
Prisoner Re-Entry Program – Michigan
Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry program keeping more parolees out, audit finds, By Dawson Bell, February 7, 2012, Detroit Free Press: “A Michigan prison program to aid parolees’ transition to life on the outside has produced a ‘notable’ reduction in recidivism in recent years, according to an audit released today. The report by the Office of the Auditor General found that parolees enrolled in the Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative were significantly less likely to end up back behind bars. The reduction was even more pronounced among parolees who had a history of parole failure before widespread use of the program in 2007, the report said…”