Latest Coverage

"Buckling from more than $140 million in losses racked up since the start of the year, the companies that contract with the state to insure Medicaid patients are pressing the Patrick administration to boost health payments for low-income residents. The health insurers' losses are tied to a high-cost hepatitis C drug approved by federal regulators last December and a surge of nearly 190,000 new members, many with expensive medical needs, assigned by MassHealth, the state Medicaid program. State funding budgeted for the current year falls far short of covering these costs, the insurers say."

"The developer behind a project that replaced 127 housing units occupied mostly by low-income seniors with luxury apartments in downtown Detroit said the experience could be used to aid future transitions. More than 100 low-income seniors, many with disabilities, were given in March 2013 one year to vacate 1214 Griswold, as Broder & Sachse Real Estate Services moved forward on plans to convert the Albert Kahn-designed building into luxury apartments known as The Albert."

"Health insurers that cover low-income residents are reacting in different ways to financial struggles brought on by the health care overhaul and expensive drugs, with some turning to new markets while others petition the state for help. Many insurers that cover Medicaid populations, and those that offer the fee-per-member model for Medicaid clients known as Managed Medicaid,' have seen drastic operating losses in the last several months."

"Marianna Castenada, a junior at East High School, has a 3.6 GPA despite the fact that she has no Internet at home. For the past two years, Marianna and her siblings have vied for time on their mother's smartphone to complete homework assignments and write essays. But the family's situation drastically changed this week thanks to Internet Essentials, a Comcast-funded, nationwide program designed to provide low-income families with Internet and computers at minimal costs."

"New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's decision to expand Medicaid under Obamacare puts him alone among Republican governors vying for the 2016 presidential nomination, and could come back to haunt him among primary voters. Some of his potential rivals who are also governors have sought ways to leverage federal money, and others have spurned the Medicaid expansion altogether. Mr. Christie, however, embraced President Obama's vision of expanding the federal-state health care program for the poor to those with incomes up to 138 percent of the poverty level."

"Kentucky showed one of the largest drops in the percentage of uninsured adults since expanded Medicaid went into effect last January, according to a recent Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index poll. The latest state figures show that 512,000 Kentuckians were newly enrolled in health coverage, with nearly three-fourths of them qualifying under Medicaid expansion that happened as part of the Affordable Care Act. One-fourth purchased private insurance through the state-based marketplace, kynect."

"Fifty years ago, at a time when one-fifth of all American families could not afford even their most basic needs, the task of providing citizens with opportunities to succeed became the nation's foremost priority. On Aug. 20, 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act was signed into law, marking the official declaration of our War on Poverty. Now half a century later, we are losing that war. Lower-than-average educational attainment levels, high unemployment and low median average household income levels have led to higher unadjusted poverty levels. Statistically, one in four children today live below the poverty line."

"Released on July 7, the report revealed that black and Latinos are more likely to work and remain in high-poverty, hard-to-staff urban schools and districts than their white counterparts; in fact, they often consider it their duty to do so."

"Chicago's mayor got another national stage to tout his push for an increased minimum wage and expanded earlier educational opportunities as he works to gain the support of liberals whom he has often viscerally disdained. That it came just six months before Emanuel will ask Chicago voters to give him a second term was not lost on his potential opponents."

"The reason, the study concludes, is not a lack of motivation or even money, but a lack of key community and high school resources, such as mentors, tutors and access to challenging classes that are available to children from wealthier households. Without these key supports, the report notes, students from low-income homes are significantly less likely to find the path to college and are more likely to struggle if they get there."

Commentary: Terry Laudick and Robin Brule, New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union