As state revenues recover, health costs remain a burden, By Michael A. Fletcher, June 11, 2012, Washington Post: “State revenues are finally returning to pre-recession levels, but the growing cost of providing health care for the poor is leaving most governments in dire fiscal straits, according to a report to be released Tuesday. States are finally seeing a bit of revenue growth in a turnaround from the economic downturn that devastated budgets in fiscal 2009 and 2010, according to a survey by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO). The problem is that many states are contending with costs that are rising even faster, as help from the federal government dwindles. Total spending has returned to levels seen before the recession…”
Day: June 12, 2012
Medicaid Cuts – Illinois
Clock now ticking on Medicaid cut-off, By Carla K. Johnson (AP), June 11, 2012, Peoria Journal Star: “More than 25,000 working parents in Illinois stand to lose their state-provided health coverage on July 1 – and most of them don’t know it yet. State officials will eliminate their coverage in just three weeks as part of the $2.7 billion package of cuts and taxes the Legislature passed in May in an effort to save Illinois’ Medicaid program from possible collapse. But with the clock ticking, the state has just sent out notices to the Medicaid families who will be affected once Gov. Pat Quinn signs the bill, as he has promised to do…”