Health
Health care and insurance costs frequently top the national policy agenda. The cost of health care remains insurmountably high for many people, but the link between poverty and health goes far beyond the cost of insurance. Poverty is both a cause and consequence of health issues. Education, poverty and neighborhood factors have a major impact on health outcomes. Factors like access to healthy food, health care, clean air and safe housing contribute to the connection between health and wealth gaps. Studies have also found that poverty is correlated with higher rates of mental illness and that the stress poverty causes cannot be ignored. The toll that poverty takes on mental and physical health is apparent in the discrepancies in life expectancy based on income level. This section of the Spotlight website gathers the latest research, news and opinion on health and poverty.
Related News
The New York Times, September 27, 2014: For Many New Medicaid Enrollees, Care Is Hard to Find, Report Says
"Enrollment in Medicaid is surging as a result of the Affordable Care Act, but the Obama administration and state officials have done little to ensure that new beneficiaries have access to doctors after they get their Medicaid cards, federal investigators say in a new report. The report, to be issued this week by the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services, says state standards for access to care vary widely and are rarely enforced. As a result, it says, Medicaid patients often find that they must wait for months or travel long distances to see a doctor."
Investor's Business Daily, September 26, 2014: Centene Races Ahead As States Shift Medicaid To HMOs
"Medicaid-focused managed-care firm Centene is having its moment as states turn over Medicaid patients to managed-care firms. St. Louis-based Centene has been expanding in Florida and Mississippi, and may get a lot bigger in Illinois next year. It already gets a big slice of Medicaid business from Texas. And Texas will likely hand over more business to Centene next year for a new pilot program for low-income "dual eligibles" -- those on Medicare and Medicaid."
Houston Chronicle, September 26, 2014: Texas, Xerox, dentists in high-stakes blame game over Medicaid abuse
"Six years after auditors discovered signs that some Texas orthodontists were putting unneeded braces on teeth of the state's poorest children, an army of lawyers is battling over who is liable for one of the biggest instances of Medicaid abuse in recent history. The state's estimate for how much was spent between 2007 and 2012 on Medicaid dental and orthodontic services that were medically unnecessary, improperly documented or not provided at all has climbed to $823 million."
Misoula Independent, September 25, 2014: UM pursues SNAP
"According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 128,531 Montanans were in the SNAP program last year. A family of two must earn less than 11,293 monthly to qualify. There's no comprehensive data to show how many college students struggle with food insecurity. An increasing body of anecdotal and numeric evidence, however, suggests that it is becoming a more pressing problem. A study conducted by Oregon State University researchers in 2011 found 59 percent of OSU students interviewed went hungry at some point the year prior."
The Dallas Morning News, September 24, 2014: White House says Texas forgoes huge sum by not expanding Medicaid
"Texas taxpayers and hospitals pay a steep price for the state's refusal to expand Medicaid, top White House officials said Wednesday, citing fresh cost projections for treating the uninsured.Hospitals nationwide will see uncompensated care drop $5.7 billion this year, according to a Department of Health and Human Services report. Three-fourths of that savings will go to the states that expanded Medicaid."
The Courier-Tribune, September 20, 2014: Medicaid expansion: 9,000 Randolph residents fall in coverage gap
"An estimated 9,000 people in Randolph County do not have health insurance today because North Carolina did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Based on income levels reported in census data, that's how many adults may have been eligible for the program, according to figures from the Randolph County Department of Social Services (DSS). But not getting access to Medicaid is only part of their trouble."
Daily Press, September 19, 2014: House Republicans reject Medicaid alternative
"The House of Delegates on Thursday took less than an hour to debate, and dispose of, the one proposal on expanding coverage for low-income Virginians to come before it during its special session on Medicaid. It voted 64 to 33 to kill the measure, with virtually all Republicans opposing the plan and virtually all Democrats supporting it."
Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum, September 19, 2014: Ohio prisons credit $10M savings to Medicaid changes
"Ohio's prison system saved $10 million in medical expenses as a result of changes to Medicaid and is on the verge of releasing inmates with health care in hand. The savings from fiscal year 2014, which ended on June 30, are expected to climb to $18 million for the current fiscal year. Officials credit the savings to a combination of changes implemented with the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. The expansion occurred midway through the 2014 fiscal year."
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, September 19, 2014: Rejecting Medicaid expansion is a bad deal for Florida
"For many Americans, this is the reality. They are part of a household that can afford good health insurance and they have come from a culture that goes to the doctor when needed and can pay for medicines when prescribed. Another sizable number are able to access basic medical services thanks to the Medicaid programs administered by the states with funding from the federal government."