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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Tag: Budget cuts

State Medicaid Programs – Kansas, Alabama

  • Disability group calling for federal investigation of Medicaid backlog, By Gabriella Dunn, July 12, 2016, Wichita Eagle: “A state disability organization is calling on the federal government to investigate the state’s handling of the application backlog for Medicaid. And this week, the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit will begin an investigation into the backlog issue. The backlog was caused in part by the state switching its computer system that processes Medicaid applications about a year ago. And then in January, it switched the agency that oversees the applications, furthering the problem…”
  • Alabama’s Medicaid crisis: Four ways out, By Brian Lyman, July 15, 2016, Montgomery Advertiser: “Legislators don’t lack options to address a shortfall in the state’s Medicaid program.  But what they do lack — for now — is leadership in the Alabama House and a certainty about whether the will exists among legislators to reopen the General Fund budget…”

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Deep cuts could be on table as Congress re-evaluates food stamp program, By Michael Marks, February 24, 2015, Dallas Morning News: “Eat or fix the car.  That was one of the choices Dylan Carter faced before signing up for the federal Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. The 24-year-old from Frisco received $200 per month while looking for a job until, after two months, he became a door-to-door salesman.  ‘You can actually pay your bills,’ Carter said. ‘It’s $200 in your pocket that normally you wouldn’t have. It’s tough out there, so every little bit helps.’  Advocates say that’s the kind of assistance the program is designed to provide: helping people stay on their feet in tough times. And they’re concerned about potential cuts and changes as the U.S. House begins a series of hearings Wednesday to re-evaluate the program…”

States and Cuts to SNAP

Cuts to food stamps will only hit Wisconsin, 3 other states, By Mary Clare Jalonick (AP), September 17, 2014, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Cuts to the nation’s food stamp program enacted this year are only affecting Wisconsin and three other states, far from the sweeping overhaul that Republicans had pushed, an Associated Press review has found. As a result, it’s unclear whether the law will realize the estimated $8.6 billion in savings over 10 years that the GOP had advertised…”