NM has highest rate of Medicaid-covered births, By Rick Nathanson, March 28, 2017, Albuquerque Journal: “New Mexico leads the nation in the percentage of babies born into Medicaid families – which can be taken as a reflection of the state’s high poverty rate or an indication that government here takes care of its own. According to figures from 2015, 72 percent of the births reported in New Mexico were paid for by Medicaid, a jointly funded federal-state health insurance program for low-income, disabled and other people who qualify…”
Tag: New Mexico
State and Local Minimum Wages
- Minimum wage increase clears Senate, By Dan Boyd, March 1, 2017, Albuquerque Journal: “A bill that would increase New Mexico’s minimum wage for the first time since 2009 is headed to the House after cruising through the Senate on Wednesday with bipartisan support. The Senate voted 24-6 to pass the measure, which would – over the next year – increase the state’s minimum wage from $7.50 to $9 an hour…”
- Businesses grapple with hike in St. Louis’ minimum wage, By Lisa Brown, March 2, 2017, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Usually the biggest worry Ed Brock has this time of year is making sure the Mardi Gras beads and accessories are replaced with St. Patrick’s Day items. Now, the owner of Johnnie Brock’s Dungeon, the city’s biggest costume and accessories shop, has a new headache: an unexpected increase in the city’s minimum wage is throwing his business into upheaval. ‘I’m still digesting it,’ Brock said Wednesday, the day after the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the city of St. Louis’ minimum wage increase, leaving business owners such as he scrambling to figure out whether to make immediate changes or wait to implement a higher wage for employees…”
Kids Count Report – New Mexico
- Kids Count report is a mixed bag for New Mexico, By Rick Nathanson, January 17, 2016, Albuquerque Journal: “The annual New Mexico Kids Count Data Book released Tuesday shows the most improvement in measures of children’s health, but little improvement in measures of family economic well-being. The data book, a project of New Mexico Voices for Children, showed declines in the rate of babies with low birth weight, in children without health insurance, and in teens abusing alcohol and drugs. The teen birth rate has also declined, following a similar national trend…”
- Despite upticks, N.M. still tough for kids, By Robert Nott, January 17, 2017, Santa Fe New Mexican: “Nearly all New Mexico children have health care insurance, and sharply fewer of the state’s teenagers are abusing drugs and alcohol, a new report says. Overall, however, New Mexico remains a tough place for kids…”