skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: Medicaid Improves Kids' Long-Term Health and Education

play audio
Play

Tuesday, July 28, 2015   

PHOENIX – Children who benefited from Medicaid expansion are more likely to have better health, get a good education and earn more money, according to a new study from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

The report, linked to the 50th anniversary of Medicaid on Thursday, found that adults who were enrolled in Medicaid as children have lower rates of emergency room visits and hospitalizations and lower blood pressure.

Jon Ford with St. Luke's Health Initiatives in Phoenix says healthy kids become successful students – and successful adults.

"Kids who have care and coverage are the ones who end up having better school attendance records, better school achievement," he says. "It's kind of difficult to have a solid foundation in life without starting off healthy."

The research also found that kids who had Medicaid coverage were less likely drop out of high school and more likely to graduate from college.

Report co-author Joan Alker, executive director with the Georgetown Center for Children and Families, says research on today's adults who were Medicaid recipients as children finds they've grown up to have higher incomes. That means they pay more taxes and have been less reliant on societal safety-net programs.

"The value of these studies is to actually look at the numbers," she says. "What all of these studies show is that Medicaid is providing an incredibly valuable service to kids, and that the taxpayers are getting a great return on their investment."

Today, Medicaid provides coverage for about 33 million children, or 37 percent of all children in the U.S. The program also benefits millions of low-income seniors and people with disabilities.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021