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

Tag: Utah

Medicaid Expansion

  • Has Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion reached a tipping point?, By Dan Mangan, January 26, 2016, CNBC: “They like their plans, and they’re likely to keep their plans.  Despite continued Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare, a key component of the law that has given millions of people health coverage — Medicaid expansion — could prove very difficult to undo, experts say. A growing number of states have signed up for that expansion of the government-run program for poor people, or are discussing doing so. Hospitals are becoming accustomed to the money that comes with expansion, and a majority of new enrollees are saying they are happy with their coverage…”
  • Utah lawmakers get creative with Medicaid expansion, By Wendy Leonard, January 24, 2016, Deseret News: “Despite years of discussing the issue without resolution, Utah lawmakers will again take on Medicaid expansion and various plans to implement it for the thousands of Utahns who remain uncovered by health insurance. And, while some lawmakers are taking approaches that have been tried before, others are trying new things — an indication of a potential desire to bring health care benefits closer to Utahns who can’t afford them…”

Intergenerational Poverty – Utah

Modest gains highlight Utah program to break intergenerational poverty, By Christopher Smart, October 1, 2015, Salt Lake Tribune: “Children are the key to breaking the chain of poverty that keeps families in economic distress for one generation after another. Youngsters who are afforded safe environments, good nutrition and early education in preschool and kindergarten are better equipped to learn as they enter elementary school and more likely to graduate high school and pursue advanced training. That is at the crux of what the Utah Intergenerational Welfare Reform Commission set out to do four years ago: find solutions to the plague of poverty handed down from parent to child and so on over decades…”

Housing First – Utah

The surprisingly simple way Utah solved chronic homelessness and saved millions, By Terrence McCoy, April 17, 2015, Washington Post: “The story of how Utah solved chronic homelessness begins in 2003, inside a cavernous Las Vegas banquet hall populated by droves of suits. The problem at hand was seemingly intractable. The number of chronic homeless had surged since the early 1970s. And related costs were soaring. A University of Pennsylvania study had just showed New York City was dropping a staggering $40,500 in annual costs on every homeless person with mental problems, who account for many of the chronically homeless. So that day, as officials spit-balled ideas, a social researcher named Sam Tsemberis stood to deliver what he framed as a surprisingly simple, cost-effective method of ending chronic homelessness.  Give homes to the homeless…”