- Feds: Georgia can’t tie food stamps to drug tests: By Craig Schneider, June 3, 2014, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Georgia cannot implement a new law requiring drug tests for some food stamp applicants and recipients, federal officials told the state Tuesday. The law, passed by the Legislature in March and signed by Gov. Nathan Deal, would require testing in cases where state workers have a “reasonable suspicion” that the person is using drugs. It is scheduled to go into effect on July 1. But U.S. Department of Agriculture policy “prohibits states from mandating drug testing of (food stamp) applicants and recipients,” according to a letter . . .”
- Economic upswing has fewer Americans receiving food stamps, By Pam Fessler, May 29, 2014, NPR: “Critics of the food stamp program have been alarmed in recent years by its rapid growth. Last year, about 1 in 7 people in the U.S. received food stamps, or SNAP benefits, as they’re called. That’s almost 48 million people, a record high. But the numbers have started to drop. In February, the last month for which figures were available, 1.6 million fewer people received food stamps than at the peak in December 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the program. ‘It’s really showing that the program is doing what it’s designed to do,’ says Dorothy Rosenbaum, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank . . .”
- Can food stamps help improve diets, fight obesity and save money? By Melissa Healy, June 3, 2014, Los Angeles Times: “Prohibiting the use of federal food stamps to purchase sugar-sweetened beverages and subsidizing the purchase of fruits and vegetables with the coupons would improve nutrition, foster weight loss and drive down rates of Type 2 diabetes among the program’s 47.6 million recipients, according to a new study. In so doing, the $79.8-billion Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) might also reap taxpayers untold future savings for the federally funded care of diabetes and other obesity-related ills among Medicaid recipients . . .”
Tag: Georgia
Charter Schools and Impoverished Students – Atlanta, GA
Data show relatively fewer students in poverty served by charter schools, By Ty Tagami, November 3, 2012, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Charter schools educate a smaller proportion of metro Atlanta’s impoverished students than the public school systems in which those charters are located, a new analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows. It’s widely accepted among education researchers that academic outcomes are linked to demographics: Schools with more students from low-income households tend to perform poorly compared to schools with more well-off students. One solution, some argue, is charter schools — independent public schools that operate free of some state restrictions as long as they meet performance goals. Proponents tout them as a superior alternative to traditional public schools, especially for children from low-income families stuck in failing schools and unable to afford private school tuition…”
Medicaid Expansion – Georgia, Iowa
- Deal rejects expansion of Medicaid, By Daniel Malloy, August 28, 2012, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday that he will not expand the Medicaid program under the federal Affordable Care Act – which would have provided an estimated 650,000 low-income Georgians with health coverage – because it would be too expensive. Deal had said that he would wait until after the presidential election to decide, but during an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11 Alive and Politico at the Republican National Convention, Deal was firm that he will not take federal money to expand the state-based health insurance program for the poor in 2014…”
- Hospitals urge state to expand Medicaid, By Tony Leys, August 28, 2012, Des Moines Register: “Iowa hospital executives want the state to accept hundreds of millions of dollars in extra federal Medicaid money under the national health reform program. Gov. Terry Branstad plans to decline the money, which would expand Medicaid to cover about 150,000 poor Iowa adults. Branstad is skeptical that the federal government can afford to keep its promise to pay at least 90 percent of the cost. The Iowa Hospital Association board recently voted unanimously to support expansion of Medicaid, which it termed a ‘historic opportunity to significantly address the plight of uninsured Iowans.’ Association members plan to aggressively lobby legislators on the subject…”