- For people in the gap, health insurance exchange won’t help, By Virginia Young, August 24, 2013, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Cathy Hattey, 59, a former factory worker from Warsaw, Mo., isn’t pinning her hopes for affordable health insurance on the online marketplace that opens Oct. 1. Though the insurance exchange is supposed to bring down costs for people without job-sponsored coverage, it won’t help Hattey and an estimated 226,525 other uninsured Missourians. They make too little to qualify for government subsidies. Yes, too little…”
- States experimenting to lower health care costs, Associated Press, August 30, 2013, Las Vegas Sun: “Oregon health officials are concentrating on coordinating services and preventing hospital stays. New Jersey medical centers are rewarding doctors who can save money without jeopardizing patient care. And Massachusetts is expanding the role of physician assistants and nurse practitioners. As states work on implementing the complex federal health care reforms, some have begun tackling an issue that has vexed employers, individuals and governments at all levels for years _ the rapidly rising costs of health care. The success of models that are beginning to emerge across the country ultimately will determine whether President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act can make good on its name…”
- Medicaid expansion: why some GOP governors are opting in, after all, By Chelsea B. Sheasley, August 28, 2013, Christian Science Monitor: “When the Supreme Court made it optional for states to expand their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act last year, most Republican governors jumped at the chance to reject an element of Obamacare. Now, a trickle of Republican-led states are opting-in to the expansion, citing economic benefits to their state…”
- Michigan Senate approves Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act in second vote, By Jonathan Oosting, August 27, 2013, Mlive: “The Michigan Senate on Tuesday evening narrowly approved legislation designed to reform Medicaid and expand eligibility to an estimated 470,000 low-income residents using federal funding available through the Affordable Care Act. But not before the measure failed in an initial vote…”
Month: August 2013
Youth Homelessness – Florida
Miami-Dade volunteers survey kids on the street, By Elinor J. Brecher, August 29, 2013, Miami Herald: “Armed with some disquieting statistics about why kids end up on the streets, about 100 volunteers fanned out across Miami-Dade County on Thursday for a headcount of homeless 13 to 24-year-olds. Called ‘iCount,’ the Housing Survey for Youth Under 25 was a joint effort of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust and the Miami Coalition for the Homeless, with support from organizations that deal with at-risk youth, including the Miami-Dade school system’s Homeless Education Program, Miami Bridge, Pridelines, The Alliance for GLBTQ Youth, Our Kids, Switchboard of Miami and Educate Tomorrow…”
Flexibility on No Child Left Behind
Education Department offers states permission to ignore No Child Left Behind until 2016, By Phillip Elliott, August 29, 2013, Star Tribune: “States can request permission to ignore parts of the No Child Left Behind education law through the spring of 2016, the Education Department said Thursday. The long-term offer underscores the intensive work states have already undertaken on school reforms in exchange for flexibility from Washington, as well as a dour outlook that Congress will take action to replace the outdated goals of No Child Left Behind. The law expired in 2007 and included goals now seen as overly ambitious…”