Medicaid spending growing faster than Texas taxes, By Chris Tomlinson (AP), May 7, 2012, Houston Chronicle: “Texas’ share for providing health care to poor children, the impoverished elderly and the disabled is growing faster than tax revenues to pay for services, creating another state budget challenge next year, top agency officials told lawmakers Monday. Texas’ Medicaid director Billy Millwee told lawmakers that his program will likely achieve only 88 percent of the cost savings forecast in the current budget. Experts had warned lawmakers last year that they were underfunding the Medicaid program by $4.8 billion, an amount lawmakers will have to make up when they meet again next year. Agency officials told the House Appropriation Subcommittee that the number of people qualifying for the Medicaid program nearly doubled between 2000 and 2011, and the number of poor children grew more than 10 percent in 2010 alone. The Medicaid population grows an average of 6.3 percent a year…”
Day: May 7, 2012
Minimum Wage and Payday Loan Ballot Initiatives – Missouri
Groups submit petitions on raising Missouri’s minimum wage, limiting payday loans, Associated Pres, May 7, 2012, Springfield News-Leader: “Supporters of raising Missouri’s minimum wage and limiting payday loans submitted petitions Sunday to get the separate measures on the November ballot, beating this weekend’s deadline to turn in signatures. The proposed minimum wage increase would put Missouri’s minimum pay at $8.25 an hour starting in 2013, with an annual cost-of living adjustment in subsequent years. However, if the federal minimum wage were to rise above the state rate, then Missouri would adopt the federal wage and apply cost-of-living adjustments to that…”
Drug Testing and Assistance Programs
Legislators continue to propose drug testing for welfare recipients, By Tim Grimes, May 5, 2012, Evansville Courier and Press: “Lawmakers in Indiana and across the nation are studying whether to require drug tests of welfare and food stamp recipients, even though there are questions about the constitutionality of the move. This year, legislators in at least 25 states proposed bills to implement some sort of drug testing system for a variety of welfare programs, most commonly Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, but also Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, which used to be called food stamps…”