- Medicaid costs top worries of W.Va., 21 other states, By Phil Kabler, August 7, 2012, Charleston Gazette: “West Virginia is one of 22 states citing increasing costs of Medicaid as the top budget challenge facing it in the 2012-13 budget year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures’ new update on state budgets. Additionally, eight states cite increased Medicaid spending as the second-biggest budget challenge, while three states listed it third among budget issues, according to the NCSL report to be released Tuesday. For West Virginia, the state’s share of Medicaid costs will increase by about $80 million in the current budget year, a result of reduced federal matching funds and increased costs for health-care services…”
- Federal government trying to entice states to expand Medicaid, By Kevin O’Hanlon, August 10, 2012, Lincoln Journal Star: “Amid ongoing resistance from some governors to increase Medicaid coverage under the new federal health care law, the federal government is trying to entice more states to expand the program. The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but said the expansion of Medicaid benefits in the law essentially was a new program, thereby making it optional for states. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman and several other governors have said they will reject the law’s Medicaid expansion because they fear its costs will be unsustainable…”
- Michigan could scale back Medicaid expansion if costs become too burdensome, By Melissa Anders, August 10, 2012, MLive.com: “Supporters of the Affordable Care Act are hopeful that Michigan will expand its Medicaid program now that a federal official has said states could opt out down the road.
But a spokesman for House Leader Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, said that’s not necessarily enough to sway his opinion in favor of the measure. The Affordable Care Act calls for an expansion of Medicaid that in Michigan would add at least 400,000 people to the federal-state health insurance program for the poor and disabled…”
Day: August 10, 2012
Long Term Unemployment
- What do jobless do when unemployment checks run out?, By Paul Davidson, August 1, 2012, USA Today: “Since abruptly losing her $312 weekly unemployment check in June, Laurie Cullinan has depleted her savings, sought food from the Salvation Army and lit candles to save electricity. If she can’t find a job this month, the Royal Oak, Mich., resident worries she’ll be evicted from her apartment, an unthinkable prospect for the 52-year-old, who enjoyed a solidly middle-class lifestyle until she lost her office-manager job two years ago. ‘What am I going to do if I’m homeless?’ says Cullinan, who collected unemployment for 1½ years. ‘My mind won’t let me comprehend that.’ Cullinan is among about 1 million long-term unemployed Americans whose jobless benefits are phasing out this year as the federal government reels in Great Recession lifelines that provided unemployment checks for as long as 99 weeks in many states. By year’s end, another 2 million will see their checks cut off sooner than Cullinan’s were, because extended unemployment benefits will end beyond the standard 26 weeks that states pay for. Congress could renew the program, but many economists say that’s unlikely…”
- The new minority: Millions of long-term unemployed looking for hope, By Michael De Groote, July 30 2012, Deseret News: “Joe Carbone can’t sleep – and the odd thing is, he deals in hope. Carbone is the President and CEO of The WorkPlace, Inc., a non-profit workforce and economic development organization in Bridgeport, Conn. He developed an experimental program to help the long-term unemployed that was recently featured on ’60 Minutes.’ But the problem of the long-term unemployed in America is so large it weighs on him. ‘I can’t tell you what this issue of long-term unemployment has done to me,’ Carbone said. In the economic downturn, the Federal government and some state governments have extended unemployment benefits beyond the standard 26 weeks – covering some people up to 99 weeks. But the way things currently stand, all extended benefits are set to expire at the end of 2012, putting everything back to a 26 week measure. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ June numbers has 5,370,000 people who have been unemployed 27 weeks or longer. The official unemployment rate is 8.2 percent, but if you add ‘discouraged workers’ who have given up looking for a job, it jumps to 8.7 percent…”
- State unemployment payments drop by half, By Mary Ann Milbourn, August 8, 2012, Orange County Register: “California sent out $1 billion in unemployment payments in June, a 50 percent drop from the peak two years ago, the Employment Development Department reports. Part of the decline is due to fewer people being unemployed. By EDD’s count, there were 1.97 million Californians who were out of work this June compared with 2.26 million in June 2010 and 2.19 million last year. However, the biggest reason for the drop in payouts this year is that California fell short in April of the federal eligibility requirements for the maximum 99 weeks of benefits…”
High School Graduation Rate – Texas
Texas’ high school graduation rate reaches record high, By Jennifer Radcliffe, August 3, 2012, Houston Chronicle: “Graduation rates for Texas’ black and Hispanic students topped 80 percent for the first time in state history in 2011, but they still lagged behind the record-setting overall graduation rate of 86 percent, the Texas Education Agency reported Friday. Hispanic graduation rates increased 3 percentage points to 81.8 percent, while black students’ rate increased 2 percentage points to 80.9 percent…”