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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Day: June 3, 2013

Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care

Costs of expanding health coverage reduced by fewer hospital stays, study shows, By Guy Boulton, June 3, 2013, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “A state health insurance program that provided improved access to care for adults with very low incomes in Milwaukee County sharply reduced hospitalizations, suggesting that the cost of expanding coverage could be partially offset by the money saved from fewer high-cost hospital stays, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The study, which was published Monday in the policy journal Health Affairs, found an increase in visits to clinics and emergency departments, but a 59% drop in hospitalizations and a 48% drop in preventable hospitalizations. The study supports the idea that if people, particularly those with chronic illnesses, have better access to care, they may be able to manage their health better, said Thomas DeLeire, a professor of public affairs and economics and director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison…”

Teachers and Low-Income Students

Teachers quietly serve as first responders to poverty, By Alfred Lubrano, May 27, 2013, Philadelphia Inquirer: “At Roxborough High School in Philadelphia, teachers and staff use a school washer and dryer to clean the clothes of needy students. Learning and laundry, in fact, get done in several area schools, where teachers and staff also buy food, prom clothes, toilet paper, eyeglasses, and countless other items for children from families with meager means. This is on top of the hundreds, even thousands, of dollars that teachers spend each year on basic classroom supplies. In the Philadelphia area, teachers see themselves as first responders in the ongoing emergency of poverty. Many say that if they falter, they fail the children…”