Survey: States Cutting Medicaid Benefits

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON -- States cut Medicaid benefits and increased copayments in 2003 to slow spending growth in the low-income health insurance program for the first time in seven years, according to a survey released Monday.

Average Medicaid spending growth in the 50 states and the District of Columbia was 9.3 percent, down from 12.8 percent a year ago, said the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Enrollment in the program over the same period increased 7.8 percent.

By comparison, premiums for employer-sponsored private health insurance increased 13.9 percent over the year.

Diane Rowland, the commission's executive director, said the trends portend uninsured parents and children finding themselves shut out of the program and the elderly and disabled seeing their coverage erode.

more...........

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-medicaid,0,3425542.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

[Mari333]

1. My 76 yr old mother is filing Bankruptcy

tommorrow...she cant afford the Prescription costs and live on SS anymore. I own a small house in Indiana, where she lives, and she covers utility costs, thats all. She has no assets, and I pay the insurance on the house.
She is over her head with expenses, since her stroke and heart disease. Cant make it. If I didnt own that house, she wouldnt have a place to live.
The AARP vote for Bush is going to be in the toilet now. Even she wont vote for the sorry SOB now. And she was a lifetime repug.

[NNN0LHI]

3. That is a real sad story Mari333. My heart goes out to your mother

I hope to hell we can vote out these thugs in Washington next year. I am going to do what I can to accomplish that.

Don

[Bandit]

5. I'm sorry about your mother and that you have to pay for her republicanism

It seems to be the way with Red Ink Republicans. They vote to take take take but when it comes their time to pay they always end up putting it off onto someone else. You sound like a good child who loves your mother. I hope things somehow get better for you both. My mother was exactly the same and I took care of her the last two years of her life. I didn't mind but would have liked just a little help. I think the Government should provide for all health concerns of our citizens.

[izzie]

2. My daughter works in this field and said it is starting to hurt.

I wonder if they look at the increase in number of people using this ? Less and less money for more and more people.

[damnraddem]

4. This is not just a fiscal crisis, it's a fiscal meltdown.

Dubya's $87 billion for Iraq could solve this problem, were he inclined to be concerned with making things better for America, rather than making them worse.