- House and Senate in Virginia at loggerheads over Medicaid expansion, By Michael Laris and Laura Vozzella, February 20, 2014, Washington Post: “Virginia’s Republican-controlled House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reject Medicaid expansion, signaling in the strongest terms yet that the chamber does not intend to budge on the marquee issue of this year’s legislative session. With the 67 to 32 vote, an impasse is seen as all but inevitable with the state Senate, where Democrats and moderate Republicans have joined to support expanding Medicaid as allowed under the Affordable Care Act. Both houses passed their respective budget proposals Thursday, so the measure — and all other budget differences between the two chambers — will be taken up in negotiations next week…”
- W.Va. a leader in Medicaid expansion enrollment, By Lydia Nuzum, February 20, 2014, Charleston Gazette: “West Virginia has exceeded expectations in an area nearly half of states have yet to take up the challenge — expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. More than 87,000 residents –70 percent of the roughly 130,000 eligible in the state — have enrolled in the expanded Medicaid program, officials say. Jeremiah Samples, assistant secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, and representatives from Kentucky, Oregon and Washington presented their strategies for enrolling eligible citizens in Medicaid during a conference call sponsored by Families USA, the largest national organization representing health-care consumers…”
- ‘Gap’ in coverage leaves some without health insurance, By Yamil Berard, February 17, 2014, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Linda Berman was forced to file for personal bankruptcy in 2012 after a four-day stay in the hospital left her with thousands of dollars in hospital bills. So the 63-year-old Lake Dallas resident, who is diabetic and has been without health insurance since 2009, hoped she could find affordable insurance once the federal health exchanges opened under the Affordable Care Act. But she says it’s still too expensive. Berman, a self-employed performer who uses bubbles to educate children about math and science at area libraries, learned that she is one of millions of Americans who have fallen into a new unintended coverage gap created by the healthcare law and by Texas leaders’ decision not to expand Medicaid…”
Day: February 21, 2014
Minnesota High School Graduation Rate
Minnesota graduation rate rose in 2013, By Kim McGuire and Steve Brandt, February 20, 2014, Minneapolis Star Tribune: “The graduation rate for Minnesota students is the highest it’s been in a decade, even though many minority students continue to lag behind their white peers when it comes to getting a diploma on time, new state data show. About 79 percent of all students graduated in 2013, up from 72 percent in 2003. Last year, 85 percent of white students, 56 percent of black students and 58 percent of Hispanic students graduated, according to data released Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Education. State education leaders said they are encouraged by the new data, which show minority students making big gains from year to year…”
Homelessness Among Veterans
Innovative program is tailored to prevent homelessness among vets, By Tony Perry, February 16, 2014, Los Angeles Times: “Kris Warren, a Marine veteran with combat duty in Iraq, remembers the disorientation and other problems that kept him from reentering civilian life. Finally he mustered the courage to ask for help from the Department of Veterans Affairs in Los Angeles. With that help over months, he was able to reunite with his wife and children and avoid slipping into homelessness. Now, Warren, 36, is part of an innovative VA program set to begin in San Diego: a residential treatment facility exclusively for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in danger of becoming homeless…”