- N. J. Medicaid fiasco: Thousands stranded without coverage, no fix in sight, By Kathleen O’ Brien, December 23, 2014, Star-Ledger: “The doctor was perfectly clear after examining Aurora Blackwell’s son this fall: The boy needed to get to an emergency room for his worsening digestive problems. Instead, Blackwell took the 4-year-old home and treated him herself — first with prune juice, then suppositories. Why would the devoted young mother of two ignore her pediatrician’s advice? Because the Burlington County woman knew that despite 10 months of phone calls, emails and letters, her family still lacked health insurance. ‘I feel helpless,’ she’d written two months earlier in a plea to Gov. Chris Christie. ‘How much longer do we have to wait?’ The meltdown of the federal government’s website tied to the Affordable Care Act has been well documented. But in New Jersey, something far worse was happening as the state expanded Medicaid access under Obamacare, an NJ Advance Media investigation has found…”
- Medicaid extension again on Kasich agenda, By Catherine Candisky, December 23, 2014, Columbus Dispatch: “Nearly one year after Ohio expanded Medicaid coverage for poor adults, Gov. John Kasich again faces uncertainty as he seeks approval from the Republican-led legislature to extend new eligibility guidelines for two more years. The governor and other supporters say lives are at stake. As of October, more than 430,000 poor Ohioans had gained health coverage under the expansion paid through federal funding available through the Affordable Care Act…”
Month: December 2014
Minimum Wage – Colorado, Ohio
- Minimum wage rising for Colorado workers starting Jan. 1, By Wayne Heilman, December 20, 2014, Colorado Springs Gazette: “Colorado’s minimum wage workers will get a 23-cent-an-hour raise starting Jan. 1, thanks to a state constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2006 that requires their pay to keep up with inflation. The minimum wage for workers who don’t receive tips increases to $8.23 an hour, while the minimum for servers and other workers who receive tips from customers rises to $5.21 an hour. The increases are the largest since a 28-cent-an-hour jump in 2012. For 2014, the amount went up 22 cents an hour…”
- Minimum wage buying power in Ohio is shifting, By Jona Ison, December 21, 2014, Cincinnati Enquirer: “Ohio’s minimum wage is automatically adjusted each year by the rate of inflation, which is good for entry-level employees but might come at the expense of raises in the long term. Since 2006, the state’s minimum wage has been adjusted based on the consumer price index, which calculates the change of prices urban consumers pay for goods. The rate will be increasing from $7.95 to $8.10 on Jan. 1…”
Concord Monitor Series on Homelessness
Seeking shelter: A cold reality, By Jeremy Blackman and Megan Doyle, December 22, 2014, Concord Monitor: “Robert Glodgett staggered into First Congregational Church last night, tired, hungry, cold – a drifter with nowhere else to go. He slipped a ski cap off his head and dropped onto a couch, alcohol on his breath. A woman walked over. ‘Red!’ she said, opening her arms. This was a homecoming of sorts. Every December for the past five years, Glodgett, 52, has arrived at the Concord church, which doubles as an emergency shelter through March. Night after night, he spends eight warm hours on a makeshift bed, recharging before another grinding winter day. This season, however, will be his last in this shelter. After more than a decade of housing the city’s homeless during the coldest months, First Congregational Church and its sister parish, South Congregational Church, have opted to shutter their operations at the end of this winter. Their decision, finalized this fall, was the result of a growing concern that the city was becoming too dependent on the shelters, which were temporary from the start…”