Massachusetts, "Walgreen May Leave Medicaid"
SO-CALLED WELFARE REFORM [OF 1996]???
On Democracy Now, Seth Wessler stated yesterday, "I mean, we're in a situation in which, almost fifteen years ago, the federal government basically decimated the cash assistance program, after another decade and a half of highly racialized attacks against the program that demonized the program, stigmatized the problem deeply. And at the same time, consecutive administrations, Republican and Democratic administrations, have de-stigmatized the Food Stamp Program. And we're seeing now that that program is on the rise, that there's more access to that program. So people are leaning more heavily now on that program."
Likewise, the sheer numbers of American Medicaid users have already reached an all-time high already. "According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than three million people signed up for Medicaid in the year ending last June, increasing enrollment 7.5 percent to a record 46.8 million. Thirteen states reported double-digit increases. As enrollment has ballooned, states across the country have tried to cut benefits to keep up with budget constraints. The Kaiser study says twenty-nine states are considering further reductions or have already made them since the current fiscal year began."
Juan Gonzalez reports, "The number of Americans receiving food stamps is at an all-time high. Earlier this year, the Agricultural Department said one in eight Americans--nearly 38 million people--received food stamps last October. The New York Times reported that about six million Americans receive food stamps, saying they have no other income. A new investigation from ColorLines Magazine, supported by the Nation Institute's Investigative Fund, shows that some poor families are forced to sell their food stamps on the black market for cash in order to survive this prolonged recession. When Congress overhauled welfare in 1996, it created the Temporary Aid to Needy Families, or TANF, program, which placed time limits on aid and made cash assistance contingent on finding a job."
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