Bill aims to make Medicaid enrollment smoother for those leaving jail in Pennsylvania, By Kate Giammarise, July 6, 2016, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Medicaid stops at prison and jail walls in Pennsylvania, and getting it started up again can take time. However, a change in the state’s Human Services code would mean Medicaid is suspended, rather than terminated, for those who are incarcerated. That would allow people who leave prison to be immediately re-enrolled and have health care, rather than having up to 45 days after they leave prison in which they can’t get needed medication…”
Tag: Pennsylvania
Section 8 Housing Vouchers – Pittsburgh, PA
For those with Section 8 vouchers, finding suitable housing difficult, By Kate Giammarise, June 20, 2016, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “It can take years to get a Section 8 voucher in Pittsburgh. But it takes just four months to lose it. Pittsburgh’s voucher waiting list has about 5,000 families on it, but once a family gets one, the clock starts ticking. The recipient must find a qualified residence within 120 days and, because of a shortage of units and willing landlords, that’s often very difficult. The Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly referred to as Section 8, is the largest federal program for assisting low-income people to find affordable housing in the private rental market…”
ACA and Free Health Clinics
While more Americans are insured, free clinics still providing a safety net, By Kate Giammarise, March 28, 2016, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “The Affordable Care Act and expansion of Medicaid have brought health insurance to millions of previously uninsured Americans. But it’s still mostly business as usual at the Birmingham Free Clinic on Pittsburgh’s South Side, where about 90 percent of patients lack health insurance. The remaining 10 percent of patients at the clinic, located in a Salvation Army building off Carson Street, tend to bounce off and on Medicaid, clinical director Mary Herbert estimated…”