- Making $11,000 a year, but excluded from Medicaid, By Kelli Kennedy (AP), August 14, 2012, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Sandra Pico is poor, but not poor enough. She makes about $15,000 a year, supporting her daughter and unemployed husband. She thought she’d be able to get health insurance after the Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama’s health care law. Then she heard that her own governor won’t agree to the federal plan to extend Medicaid coverage to people like her in two years. So she expects to remain uninsured, struggling to pay for her blood pressure medicine. ‘You fall through the cracks and there’s nothing you can do about it,’ said the 52-year-old home health aide. ‘It makes me feel like garbage, like the American dream, my dream in my homeland is not being accomplished.’ Many working parents like Pico are below the federal poverty line but don’t qualify for Medicaid, a decades-old state-federal insurance program. That’s especially true in states where conservative governors say they’ll reject the Medicaid expansion under Obama’s health law…”
- Frequent Medicaid patient doctor visits no longer allowed, By Liz Freeman, August 13, 2012, Naples Daily News: “Medicaid patients with chronic health problems, be prepared: Frequent doctor visits are no longer allowed. Hospitals also are taking new hits from the state Medicaid program for the poor and disabled. Payments for ‘frequent flier’ patients to emergency room stops with the seventh visit in one year. The Florida Legislature approved the caps this past spring. The state Agency for Healthcare Administration recently notified hospitals and doctors of the changes that kicked in Aug. 1. The catch is a consumer watchdog group, Florida CHAIN, says it has asked the state for proof it has sought approval from the federal government to make the changes…”
Day: August 14, 2012
Poverty and Low-wage Work – Japan
Japan’s poverty gap has politicians calling for rise in minimum wage, By Gavin Blair, August 14, 2012, Christian Science Monitor: “Having failed to graduate from high school in a country that places significant emphasis on education and where 92 percent of the population graduates, Hiro knew his prospects of a steady job in a Japanese company were slim. But, he says, ‘I never thought it would be this bad. I didn’t ever expect to be rich, but I never thought it would be this tough,’ says the 27-year-old, who asked to be identified only by his first name out of respect to his family. Still, regarding himself as a hard worker, he estimated he could earn a decent wage with his hands. Following four years of regular employment in an automotive parts company when he left school, Hiro has spent seven years working where and when he can. Unable to find regular, full-time employment, he works at factories, construction sites, and anywhere else he is sent by a temporary agency, earning 160,000-180,000 yen ($1,580-1,980) a month, when there is work. Hiro represents a growing number of Japanese living below the poverty line…”
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
USDA unveils steps to fight food stamp fraud, By Jim Abrams (AP), August 9, 2012, Albany Times Union: “The Agriculture Department on Thursday came out with new steps to fight fraud in food stamps, a federal program that has taken center stage as Congress struggles to adopt a long-term farm policy bill. The actions announced by Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon include giving the department new authority to penalize retailers who traffic in food stamps and requiring states to make use of federal databases, including prison and death records, to ensure that food benefits go to those who are eligible…”