- Medicaid expansion rejected by Louisiana may be pursued in New Orleans, By Bruce Alpert, September 25, 2012, New Orleans Times-Picayune: “With Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration opting out of the Medicaid expansion offered in the federal Affordable Care Act, New Orleans officials say they are looking for ways to go it alone. Jindal announced his decision after the Supreme Court in June upheld the constitutionality of the health-care overhaul legislation but ruled that states can’t be compelled to expand Medicaid, a key component of President Barack Obama’s goal of providing near universal health coverage by 2014…”
- Report: Medicaid boost would save Arizona money, By Mary Reinhart, September 26, 2012, Arizona Republic: “Expanding Medicaid under federal health reform would save state tax dollars, create thousands of jobs and provide government-paid health care to hundreds of thousands of low-income Arizonans, according to a new report from a bipartisan think tank. Research from the Grand Canyon Institute, whose board includes former Republican and Democratic state lawmakers, shows that with a $1.5 billion investment over the first four years the state would collect nearly $8 billion in federal funding and insure an additional 435,000 people by 2017…”
- In Arkansas, governor changes course on health care to help uninsured, struggling Democrats, Associated Press, September 25, 2012, Washington Post: “President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul has never been popular in Arkansas, a state where even most Democrats regard the law as politically toxic. But with a quarter of the state’s working-age population uninsured, a governor who once said he would have voted against the law now wants to use it to widen government-funded coverage to thousands of additional families. And he’s relying on the move to help prevent a Republican takeover of the state Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. Gov. Mike Beebe, the first Southern governor to back the law’s expansion of Medicaid, has become an unlikely advocate for a central part of the overhaul that would expand Medicaid, a position made easier by the fact that he’s not seeking re-election…”
Tag: Arkansas
Juvenile Justice System – Arkansas
Study praises juvenile justice reforms, says more work needed, By Rob Moritz, March 14, 2012, Arkansas News: “A new study presented to lawmakers today praises recent reforms in Arkansas’ juvenile justice system and recommends additional strategies to save money. ‘There really has been remarkable work done to reform juvenile justice in this state,’ said Pat Arthur, the study’s co-author, a California-based consultant and former attorney at the National Center for Youth Law in San Francisco. ‘It’s truly been an amazing collaboration of stakeholders to behold over the last four years who have come together and collaboratively worked to change what was four years ago safe to say a sinking ship, the Division of Youth Services,’ Arthur told a joint meeting of the Senate Committee on Children and Youth and the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs.
In 2008, following a series of problems within the juvenile justice system, including poor facilities, overcrowding and physical and emotion abuse of youths, a task force of judges, state officials, advocacy and community groups formed to find solutions…”
Medicaid Reform – Arkansas
State officials identify priorities for Medicaid reform, By John Lyon, August 22, 2011, Arkansas News: “State officials working on revamping Arkansas’ Medicaid program have identified nine priority areas for reform. In an Aug. 10 letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius, Gov. Mike Beebe said the nine areas ‘appear to hold significant potential for early success and impact in moving from fee-for-service to episodic payments,’ or payments based on an entire course of treatment for a single health issue. The areas are pregnancy and neonatal care; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; type 2 diabetes; back pain; cardiovascular disease; upper respiratory infections; developmental disabilities; long-term care; and prevention…”