skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

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

Day two of David Pecker testimony wraps in NY Trump trial; Supreme Court hears arguments on Idaho's near-total abortion ban; ND sees a flurry of campaigning among Native candidates; and NH lags behind other states in restricting firearms at polling sites.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Senate moves forward with a foreign aid package. A North Carolina judge overturns an aged law penalizing released felons. And child protection groups call a Texas immigration policy traumatic for kids.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The urban-rural death divide is widening for working-age Americans, many home internet connections established for rural students during COVID have been broken and a new federal rule aims to put the "public" back in public lands.

Report: PA Kids' Health Coverage Increased During Pandemic

play audio
Play

Thursday, November 4, 2021   

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Since the pandemic began, public health coverage for children has increased by 10% in Pennsylvania, and a new report underscored best practices to help ensure that affordable health care is accessible for kids and families.

Becky Ludwick, vice president of public policy at Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, the group that published the report, said one possible explanation for more kids being insured is Medicaid's "disenrollment freeze," put in place to keep people covered when the federal Public Health Emergency was declared.

Ludwick said it is important to enact more policies to ensure people maintain their coverage.

"One of the simpler things that we're recommending is to ensure that addresses are current for sending renewals," Ludwick explained. "And the reason that's important is because we have been in a public health emergency since March of 2020. And during that time, many individuals may have moved."

Her organization's 2021 State of Children's Health Care report suggests the state also help residents who lose Medicaid coverage to have a smooth transition to other public insurance programs, such as Pennie, the state's health insurance marketplace, or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The report also flagged some of the pandemic's disproportionate impacts on families of color. Black households with children were three times more likely to have lost employment income than white households with children.

Ludwick argued guaranteeing continuous health coverage for all families enrolled in Medicaid is critical to prevent further economic hardship.

"We often see where families have seasonal employment, so their incomes can fluctuate from month to month or from different seasons," Ludwick observed. "And so, even those slight changes in income could potentially leave families at risk of losing their health insurance."

Pennsylvania has continuous eligibility for 12 months for all children in CHIP, and kids under four who are covered through Medicaid.

Disclosure: Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children/KIDS COUNT contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Early Childhood Education, Education, and Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Creedon Newell practices teaching construction skills in Wyoming's new career and technical educator bridge course, designed to encourage trades students and professionals to pursue a career in CTE teaching. (Photo by Rob Hill)

Social Issues

play sound

By Lane Wendell Fischer for the Shasta Scout via The Daily Yonder.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service for the Public News …


Environment

play sound

By Naoki Nitta for Civil Eats.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public Ne…

Social Issues

play sound

Concerns about potential voter intimidation have spurred several states to consider banning firearms at polling sites but so far, New Hampshire is …


Though Connecticut's benefits cliff persists, there are other programs helping people maintain benefits of some kind when their income pushes them over the limit. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Today, groups working with lower-income families in Connecticut are raising awareness about the state's "benefits cliff" with a day of action…

Social Issues

play sound

Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick has released 57 "interim charges," the topics he wants Senate committees to study in preparation for the 89th …

It is estimated the Wild Springs Solar Project in New Underwood, South Dakota, will offset 190,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

The construction of more solar farms in the U.S. has been contentious but a new survey shows their size makes a difference in whether solar projects …

Social Issues

play sound

Minnesota's largest school district is at the center of a budget controversy tied to the recent wave of school board candidates fighting diversity pro…

play sound

Minnesota lawmakers are considering a measure which would force employers to properly classify certain trade union workers and others as employees rat…

 

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