State Budget Cuts and Health Care Programs

States slash health care programs in budget crisis, By Susan Haigh (AP), July 29, 2009, The State: “Aurice Barlow knows what happens when someone can’t afford dental care. ‘I see people walking the streets with toothaches, teeth hanging out of their mouths,’ said the former nurse’s aide. At least 30 percent of the people in this city of 124,500 are impoverished. ‘Nobody cares,’ she says. Barlow is worried she’ll now become one of them. Washington is pouring $87 billion in federal stimulus money into the states to help maintain state-run Medicaid health care for the needy – and to handle the expected surge in enrollment. But Connecticut and other cash-strapped states say they still must slash spending on health care to cover massive budget deficits. At least 21 states have already restricted low-income children’s and families’ eligibility for health insurance or their access to services; at least 22 states and the District of Columbia are cutting services for low-income elderly or disabled patients…”