- Lawmakers approve Medicaid cuts, By Jason Stein, March 14, 2012, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “An estimated 22,800 people would leave or be turned away from the state’s health programs for the poor, under a cost-cutting proposal revised by a legislative committee Wednesday. The Joint Finance Committee approved the revised Medicaid cuts on a 12-4 vote, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats voting against. The number of people expected to lose or drop their coverage was about one-third the number that would have lost it under the original proposal put forward by Gov. Scott Walker’s administration, which would have affected 64,800 people. The number of children losing their coverage fell even more sharply to 2,900 from the original proposal of 29,100 children. The proposal also would save less state money – $36.5 million through June 2013 instead of $90.2 million…”
- Doctors, their oldest patients starting to smart from new state health cuts, By Tim Eaton, March 14, 2012, Austin American-Statesman: “About 10 percent of patients seen by Bruce Malone, an Austin orthopedic surgeon, are referred to in medical circles as ‘dual-eligibles.’ They are the state’s oldest and poorest: the patients who can receive benefits from both Medicare and Medicaid. They have also been targeted by legislative budget writers. When state legislators tried to close the gaping, multibillion-dollar budget deficit last year, deep cuts needed to be made. And publicly funded medical care – like just about every other portion of the budget – was going to take a hit. Now, the consequences of cuts to Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for low-income people and people with disabilities, are coming to light, and some doctors and medical organizations say new regulations threaten the practices of some Texas doctors by reducing their payments…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty