Health Beat: Report shows Medicaid provides health coverage to record 73 million Americans

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KAISER FOUNDATION REPORT: MEDICAID PROVIDES HEALTH COVERAGE TO RECORD 73 MILLION, ONE IN FIVE AMERICANS
Medicaid plays a significant role in the U.S. health care system, now providing health insurance coverage to a record 73 million people, or more than one in five Americans. It also accounts for one-sixth of all U.S. health care expenditures, according to a new report conducted by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and Health Management Associates (HMA), in collaboration with the National Association of Medicaid Directors.

The Medicaid program continues to evolve as state and federal policy makers respond to changes in the economy, the broader health system, state budgets, and policy priorities, and in recent years, to requirements in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The new Kaiser report provides an in-depth examination of the changes taking place in Medicaid programs across the country, including how Arkansas and many other states plan to tighten controls on spending to slow spending hikes for low-income and disabled Americans. The findings in the report are drawn from the 16th annual budget survey of Medicaid officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. To view the report, click here.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES SMALL COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT (COLA) FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFICIARIES IN 2017
Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 65 million Americans will increase 0.3 percent in 2017, the Social Security Administration announced Tuesday. The 0.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 60 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2017. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on Dec. 30, 2016. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $127,200 from $118,500. Of the estimated 173 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2017, about 12 million will pay more because of the increase in the taxable maximum.

CDC: SCHOOL DENTAL-SEALANT PROGRAMS COULD PREVENT MOST CAVITIES, LOWER TREATMENT COSTS IN VULNERABLE CHILDREN
Research shows dental sealants to shield the back teeth could prevent up to 80% of cavities in school-aged children, according to a new report released Monday (Oct. 18) by the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control. Dental sealants are a thin coating that is painted on teeth to protect them from cavities. One way to provide sealants to more children is by increasing their access to school-based sealant programs (SBSPs), but about 60% of school children ages 6-11 years don’t get access to such programs.

The CDC says SBSPs are especially important for children from low-income families because such children are less likely to receive dental care. These programs target schools with a high percentage of children eligible for free or reduced-cost meal programs. As a result, SBSPs provide sealants to children who are at higher risk for cavities and less likely to receive preventive care.

CDC currently provides funding to 21 state public health departments to coordinate and implement school-based and school-linked sealant programs that target low-income children and those who live in rural settings. Arkansas is not one those states. To read the entire CDC report, visit here.