- Maryland lawmakers approve higher minimum wage, By Erin Cox and Michael Dresser, April 7, 2014, Baltimore Sun: “Maryland’s minimum wage will rise to $10.10 by July 2018 under a bill granted final passage by state lawmakers Monday. The measure goes to Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley for his promised signature. Raising the wage above the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour was O’Malley’s top legislative goal during the final session of his eight years as governor, and in a statement he commended lawmakers ‘for giving so many Maryland families the raise they deserve.’ Maryland became the second state this year pass a hike to $10.10, the mark set by Democrats across the country seeking to address income inequality. Connecticut approved that increase in March…”
- Minnesota’s minimum wage is going to $9.50 an hour by 2016, By Patrick Condon, April 7, 2014, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “Minnesota’s minimum wage is set to jump from one of the lowest in the nation to one of the highest, promising a better standard of living for more than 350,000 workers but raising bottom-line concerns for some business owners. Democrats who run the Legislature said Monday that by the end of the week the House and Senate will pass a proposal that’s been one of their party’s top legislative priorities this year. Once it becomes law, the minimum wage for businesses with more than half a million dollars in annual gross sales will rise in three successive steps, starting this August, from the current $6.15 an hour to $9.50 by 2016…”
Tag: Maryland
State Medicaid Programs
- NC proposes experimental health networks for Medicaid patients, By Lynn Bonner, February 26, 2014, News and Observer: “State officials rolled out a plan Wednesday for changes in the state Medicaid program that are a huge step away from the managed-care proposal Gov. Pat McCrory and top state Department of Health and Human Services officials pitched last year. The new proposal avoids a fight with doctors, hospitals and other health care providers over the future of the $13 billion government health insurance program that covers about 1.7 million poor children and their parents, elderly people and disabled people…”
- Gov. Gary Herbert offers ‘Utah solution’ to Medicaid expansion, By Lisa Riley Roche, February 27, 2014, Deseret News: “Gov. Gary Herbert offered his own ‘Utah solution’ to Medicaid expansion Thursday, calling for a new state-run program that would be paid for through a block grant from the federal government. Herbert’s ‘Healthy Utah’ plan would seek a block grant from the federal government to cover about the same number of needy Utahns as accepting the full expansion of Medicaid offered under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. But instead of receiving Medicaid, the estimated 111,000 Utahns earning less than $15,500 a year would each pay about $420 a year toward private insurance and medical expenses…”
- Medicaid recipients may stay in system even if they don’t qualify, By Meredith Cohn, February 27, 2014, Baltimore Sun: “Maryland must spend as much as $30.5 million more to provide Medicaid coverage to Marylanders because the state’s glitch-riddled health exchange website can’t tell whether they are still eligible. It’s another problem exacerbated by the software that has been causing headaches since the exchange website launched on Oct. 1 for those trying to get into the expanded Medicaid program or buy private insurance with subsidies…”
Child Are Subsidies – Maryland
Md. child care subsidy program underfunded, By Tricia Bishop, July 15, 2013, Baltimore Sun: “Maryland’s Child Care Subsidy program, which gives poor families vouchers for care so parents can work or go to school, is so underfunded that it hasn’t met federal rate guidelines in a decade and still uses income eligibility criteria from 2001. The deficit prevents thousands of families from participating and relegates many of those who do to the least expensive care available — often the lowest caliber in terms of facilities, educational offerings and staff training…”