The U.S. Census Bureau released new data on income, poverty and health insurance today and as expected the new isn’t very good. The number of people living in poverty rose from 37.3 million in 2007 to 39.8 million in 2008, and the poverty rate rose from 12.5% to 13.2%, the highest level in eleven years.Continue reading “Rise in Poverty in the U.S.”
Category Archives: Health
Politics, politics…and who always loses?
Have you heard the one about the origin of the word, “politics?” It comes from “poly,” which means many, and “tics,” those blood-sucking parasites….. I tell you, I get back from a trip overseas for a couple weeks and when I get back it seems like the crazies have taken over the political scene. WeContinue reading “Politics, politics…and who always loses?”
California Parolees Have a High Need for Health Services; Accessing Services Is a Challenge
By Lois Davis, RAND Corporation As California continues to release more prisoners, most will return to California communities, bringing with them a host of health and social needs. This raises key public health challenges, especially because ex-prisoners are returning to communities whose safety nets have already been severely strained. The RAND Corporation has just releasedContinue reading “California Parolees Have a High Need for Health Services; Accessing Services Is a Challenge”
Trends in LA and CA over the next few years
A common problem in trying to discern trends in poverty and inequality is that the data that we often have at hand are usually not particularly recent. The lag between when data are collected and publicly available can be significant, especially in a rapidly changing economy like we’ve been in over last several months. Also,Continue reading “Trends in LA and CA over the next few years”
Human suffering
Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing. Luke 23:34 I’ve been reading Mountains Beyond Mountains, a great book by Tracy Kidder about the work of Paul Farmer and Partners in Health recently. It tells the story of how the dedication of one talented person can mushroom into a global effortContinue reading “Human suffering”
Mental health care system in crisis
If you’ve read The Soloist, you are aware of how disabling mental illness can be to lives full of promise. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) recently released Grading the States, a report card on the U.S. public mental health care system for adults. The analysis is based on 65 specific criteria such asContinue reading “Mental health care system in crisis”
Review of “The Soloist” by Steve Lopez
We have a general rule of thumb in our household that before seeing a movie, we try to read the book on which it is based. (By the way, this has proved to be a great motivator for our son to plow through the Harry Potter books). You may have recently seen the trailer forContinue reading “Review of “The Soloist” by Steve Lopez”
Health, Wealth and History
One of the most poignant moments in the most recent presidential campaign came during the second debate in discussing health care. The town hall format debate was full of the usual equivocating and double-speak of presidential debates and the campaign in general, and both candidates offered vague, stump-speech responses to an audience member’s question aboutContinue reading “Health, Wealth and History”
Homeless children: a national disgrace
The National Center on Family Homelessness NCFH today released a report outlining the extent of homelessness among children in the U.S. In America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness, NCFH researchers found: More than 1.5 million children are homeless annually in the United States—one in every 50 American children. 42 percent of homelessContinue reading “Homeless children: a national disgrace”
Layoffs increase the ranks of the uninsured
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in the U.S. went up 1.6 points from September 2008 to January 2009, which would mean according to these estimates that the number of people without health insurance increased by about 1.7 million. Clearly, the economic meltdown is affecting all sectors of our society and placing strains on already-overburdened safety net systems.
Bill Pitkin 