Thanks to the apparent success of Massachusetts’s health reform, Census Bureau estimates released September 13 indicate that Massachusetts still leads the nation in health care coverage. The Massachusetts health insurance coverage rate is more than ten percentage points higher than the national rate.
New Census Bureau data released today show that the national poverty rate increased for the third year in a row in 2010, rising to 15.1 percent from 14.3 percent in 2009.
After a deep recession that officially began in December of 2007 and ended in June of 2009, the US economy is now in a period of weak and fragile recovery, one that features both slow growth and high levels of unemployment. For many Americans, the current recovery feels little different than the recession itself. This certainly holds true for the many Massachusetts families who have felt the direct effects of this historic downturn – Labor Day 2011 offers little cause for celebration among the Bay State’s thousands of unemployed and underemployed workers. By many measures, however, Massachusetts has fared far better than most other states during the Great Recession and its aftermath. We have experienced lower rates of unemployment, lost a smaller share of our jobs, and maintained higher median wages for many of our workers. This new report, Jobs and The Massachusetts Economy: Labor Day 2011, provides charts and analysis of the most current data for Massachusetts and the US on unemployment rates, job losses, and median wages. The report offers snapshots of how these measures have changed since the start of the Great Recession and over prior decades.
This updated report examines state budget cuts since the onset of the current economic downturn. It builds on our prior edition published in April (which included cuts up through the Governor’s FY 2012 budget proposal) and compares changes in major categories of state spending between FY 2009 and FY 2012. It documents deep cuts in early education, public health, and other programs that directly affect the lives of children and adults across the commonwealth.
This Budget Brief describing the Fiscal Year 2012 (FY 2012) budget for MassHealth (Medicaid) and other related health care programs is the last in a series of fact sheets published by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute(MMPI) and produced by MassBudget in partnership with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. These fact sheets have been published at each stage in the FY 2012 budget process; this fact sheet summarizes the enacted budget for FY 2012.
The FY 2012 budget includes deep cuts in a number of areas including $24 million from the Judiciary (including probation) and over $60 million in public higher education. The final version of the budget also includes $460 million less in local aid in FY 2012 than in the original FY 2009 budget, after accounting for inflation.
This Budget Brief on the House and Senate proposals for MassHealth and related health care programs is the fifth in a new series published by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute and produced by MassBudget in partnership with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. These fact sheets will be published at each stage of the budget process, examining and explaining the proposals put forth by the Governor, the House, and the Senate.
With House and Senate budget debate complete, conferees from the two branches are now meeting to resolve differences. The Conference Committee is expected to craft a budget that both branches can approve in time for the Governor to sign it, and veto those sections he disapproves of, before Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 begins on July 1st. This Budget Monitor describes the final Senate budget, including floor amendments, and describes the major differences between the House and Senate in each area of the budget.
This Budget Brief on the Senate Ways and Means proposals for MassHealth and related health care programs is the fourth in a new series published by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute and produced by MassBudget in partnership with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. These fact sheets will be published at each stage of the budget process, examining and explaining the proposals put forth by the Governor, the House, and the Senate
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Senate Ways and Means (SWM) budget proposal shares a basic structure with the proposals from the Governor and House. All three rely primarily on budget cuts and reform initiatives to close the $1.9 billion gap between the revenues expected to be available and the cost of providing current services.