An Obamacare winner: Safety-net hospitals, By Phil Galewitz, May 24, 2014, USA Today: “At Seattle’s largest safety-net hospital, the proportion of uninsured patients fell from 12% last year to an unprecedented low of 2% this spring — a drop expected to boost Harborview Medical Center’s revenue by $20 million this year. The share of uninsured patients was cut roughly in half this year at two other major safety net hospitals — Denver Health in Colorado and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Hospital (UAMS) in Little Rock. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the health law’s expansion of coverage to more than 13 million people this year has been the nation’s safety-net hospitals. . .”
Day: May 27, 2014
‘Ban the Box’ Legislation
States, cities ‘ban the box’ in hiring, By Jeffrey Stinson, May 22, 2014, Pew Stateline: “When Dwyane Jordan got busted four years ago on felony drug-peddling charges, he was thankful to get probation and addiction treatment rather than prison time. What he didn’t bargain for was the haunting effect that being branded a felon would have on his ability to lawfully earn a living—a burden he shares with roughly 70 million U.S. adults who have criminal records. “It reminds me of ‘The Scarlet Letter,’” said Jordan, 43, of Washington, D.C. Jordan’s criminal past comes up nearly every time he applies for a job. . .”
DC Promise Neighborhood
Tackling poverty: DC community tries new approach: By Kimberly Hefling, May 24, 2014, Washington Post: “The corner Safeway is long gone, closed after looting following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968. Some residents have no choice but to buy groceries from an old ice-cream truck. Others rely on men known as “riders” who transport shoppers for a few bucks. Occasional gunshots ring out even as the days of out-of-state drivers lining the streets to buy drugs are largely over. Young children are everywhere except during school hours, when many are scattered far from home at 150 schools around the nation’s capital because of a long history of subpar education in the neighborhood. . .”