In hopeful sign, health spending is flattening out, By Annie Lowrey, April 28, 2012, New York Times: “The growth of health spending has slowed substantially in the last few years, surprising experts and offering some fuel for optimism about the federal government’s long-term fiscal performance. Much of the slowdown is because of the recession, and thus not unexpected, health experts say. But some of it seems to be attributable to changing behavior by consumers and providers of health care – meaning that the lower rates of growth might persist even as the economy picks up. Because Medicare and Medicaid are two of the largest contributors to the country’s long-term debts, slower growth in health costs could reduce the pressure for enormous spending cuts or tax increases. In 2009 and 2010, total nationwide health care spending grew less than 4 percent per year, the slowest annual pace in more than five decades, according to the latest numbers from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. After years of taking up a growing share of economic activity, health spending held steady in 2010, at 17.9 percent of the gross domestic product…”
Month: April 2012
Women, Infants, and Children Program
- Why are fewer moms applying for safety net program?, By Pamela M. Prah, April 30, 2012, Stateline: “More Americans are collecting food stamps than ever before, but fewer needy mothers are using another federal government program that offers free baby formula and food for young children. There isn’t one answer to explain the recent decline in the number of women and young children in the program, commonly known as WIC, which the government officially calls the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. It makes sense that more Americans are getting food stamps since that program, known formally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is open to people of all ages who need help recovering from the recession. WIC specifically serves pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants and children up to age 5, a much narrower demographic. Still, it’s puzzling that WIC would be shrinking in these hard times, rather than getting bigger…”
- Missoula health department says state’s WIC use lowest in U.S., By Keila Szpaller, April 28, 2012, The Missoulian: “The state of Montana has the lowest rate in the country – 30 percent – of serving children who qualify for federal help getting good nutrition, according to the Missoula City-County Health Department. ‘We suspect from our focus groups and from our experience with the program that the state has rules that are not federally required, and some of those rules are very difficult for the client at the checkstand, if not humiliating,’ said Ellen Leahy, director of the local health department. Leahy last week shared the news about the federal WIC program – Women, Infants and Children – with a committee of the Missoula City Council, and she said the local agency is ‘advocating and agitating’ to change burdensome state requirements…”
- Muskegon County WIC food assistance enrollment, use down, By Megan Hart, April 16, 2012, Muskegon Chronicle: “Fewer Muskegon County families are using nutritional assistance for women and young children, officials say – a trend they hope to reverse. Public Health Muskegon County maternal child services supervisor Gwen Williams said about 7,620 Muskegon County people were enrolled in the Special Supplement Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (better known as WIC) as of February. That’s down from a high of 7,821 people in 2011, she said, and many more families are eligible…”
Charlotte Observer Series on Nonprofit Hospitals
Prognosis: Profits, Series homepage (Five-part series), Charlotte Observer:
- Nonprofit hospitals thrive on profits, By Ames Alexander, Karen Garloch and Joseph Neff, April 21, 2012, Charlotte Observer: “Nonprofit hospitals in the Charlotte region are respected community institutions. They save lives, heal the sick and provide good jobs. At the same time, most of them are stockpiling a fortune. Their profits have risen along with their prices. Top executives are paid millions as their hospitals expand, buy expensive technology and build aggressively. And they benefit each year from a perk worth millions: They pay no income, property or sales taxes. These institutions were created with charitable missions. But many don’t act like nonprofits anymore. In their quest for growth and financial strength, they have contributed to the rising cost of health care, leaving thousands of patients with bills they struggle to pay…”
- Most N.C. hospitals are slim on charity care, By Ames Alexander, Joseph Neff and Karen Garloch, April 22, 2012, Charlotte Observer: “Rachael Shehan has no health insurance and virtually no income. But when serious respiratory problems strike, her hospital has never provided financial help, she said. Instead, the 39-year-old Lenoir resident says, Caldwell Memorial Hospital has sent bill collectors who have hounded her for payment and ruined her credit. Now, she sometimes bursts into tears when medical problems arise. ‘I know the hospital isn’t going to help me with my bills,’says Shehan, who relies on food stamps and the help of friends. Nonprofit hospitals such as Caldwell Memorial are exempt from property, sales and income taxes. In return, they are expected to give back to their communities, largely by providing care to those who can’t afford it. Like Caldwell, most North Carolina hospitals are devoting a fraction of their expenses to help the poor and uninsured, an investigation by the Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer of Raleigh found. In 2010, most of the state’s hospitals spent less than 3 percent of their budgets on charity care – the practice of forgiving all or part of a patient’s bill…”