from Reuters India Here is an update on what is going on with Massachusetts health care plan. This seems to be written with an international audience in mind, since it came from Reuters India. - KaleBy Jason SzepBOSTON (Reuters) - Nearly half a million people obtained health insurance in the two years since Massachusetts enacted a pioneering health-care law, officials said on Tuesday, putting the state closer to covering nearly all residents.The law, seen as a possible national model as traditional employer-based coverage shrinks nationwide, made Massachusetts the first U.S. state with near-universal health insurance when it went into effect in April 2006.Between June 2006 and March 31, 2008, more than 439,000 people enrolled in private or subsidized health insurance programs, the...
from the Worcester Telegram and Gazette By Bronislaus B. Kush About two years ago, Nicholas Campolettano, a student at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester who was studying religion and sociology, began developing an interest in the plight of some of the indigenous people of Africa.He researched issues affecting Africans and carefully monitored news developments from the world’s second-largest and second-most populous continent.Last year, Mr. Campolettano, a resident of Hicksville, N.Y., on Long Island, even worked with U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, and state Sen. Edward M. Augustus Jr., D-Worcester, to organize a program on the genocide in Darfur.“I did a lot of studying, but you can only read so much,” said Mr. Campolettano, who will be a senior next fall. “I...
from The Eagle TribuneBy Yadira BetancesStaff WriterLAWRENCE — Growing up, she knew she wanted more out of life than living in poverty in a housing project."I'm not embarrassed about my background," said Awilda Pimentel, 27, of Lawrence. "Growing up in poverty made me see things differently and gave me the incentive I needed to be successful in life."Pimentel is one step closer to achieving her goal.On Saturday, Pimentel will receive a certificate in criminal justice and nursing from Northern Essex Community College. In the fall, she begins her studies in the accelerated bachelor and master's degree program at University of Massachusetts at Lowell.Pimentel dropped out of school at 14 and worked at Greater Lawrence Family Health Center and a mortgage company.She soon realized education...
from the Denver PostBy STEVE LeBLANC BOSTON—Two years after the state's landmark health law was signed, the cracks are starting to show.Costs are soaring and Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing a dollar-a-pack hike in the state's cigarette tax to help pay for a larger-than-expected enrollment in the law's subsidized insurance plans.But that hasn't dampened enthusiasm at the Statehouse. Leaders there boast that in the two years since former Gov. Mitt Romney signed the law with a choreographed flourish at historic Faneuil Hall, the number of insured residents has soared by nearly 350,000.Along the way the law has been scrutinized by other states, sparked the ire of critics on the right and left, and drawn the attention of presidential candidates."It's the very first question I get when...
from Arlington AdvocateBy Nicole LaskowskiArlington, Mass. - In October 2005, John Abdulla, a graduate of Arlington High School, had one of those rare life-changing moments. During a U2 concert at the Fleet Center in Boston, Bono mentioned the ONE campaign, an international organization aimed at raising awareness and ending global poverty and diseases in the poorest countries. Before that, Abdulla didn’t think much about poverty or malaria or AIDS or even activism, for that matter.“Knowing how much we spend on the war in Iraq and how little we spend on this other cause that could save more lives,” Abdulla said. It was enough to make him stop and think about how he could help end the battle with poverty.So, when his professor assigned a research project in his writing class at Curry...
from the Worcester Telegram and NewsStudy: 464,000 Bay Staters, 7% of population, at riskNO PLACE AT THE TABLE - PART 1 OF 4By Richard Nangle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFFAnti-hunger advocates are working as hard as ever to feed the increasing millions of Americans who are chronically undernourished or at risk of going hungry.Despite their well-intentioned efforts, though, hunger persists, as if it were a necessary component of the human landscape, a product of a society that has decided it is acceptable to have big winners and big losers.The situation lends itself to assessing blame. But the villains are elusive, hidden amid a complex and disjointed system that perennially falls short of its promise.However, there is evidence that anti-hunger advocates are beginning to be heard. The Spotlight...
from The Republican On days when freshly fallen snow covers bare trees, when the biting winter wind finds its way between the collar of my coat and the nape of my neck, I sometimes think of her.Pushing a baby carriage over speed bumps made of snow on a Holyoke sidewalk, she would arrive every evening with a warm smile and an infant bundled up against the cold. She was there to pick up a young son who was being tutored at the Homework House in Holyoke, an after-school program where I volunteered last year.To say that she was not a soccer mom is an understatement. There was no warm van waiting. No money for a cab. No husband at home caring for the baby. Just a young mother who enrolled her son in this program to give him a better chance. Maybe it is because of her that I was not surprised...
from The Boston GlobeBy John Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent | January 31, 2008Advocates for the elderly are pushing hard to get area senior citizens in need of assistance to apply for the federal food stamp program, but pride and embarrassment stand in the way, they say.Many seniors who never had to ask the government for help during their prime working years now find themselves struggling with lower incomes. As a result, it's harder for them to make ends meet while juggling medical needs and prescriptions, utility bills, housing and food costs, and other routine expenses.Living on Social Security payments, sometimes supplemented by a pension, retirees may be eligible for aid for the first time. But many do not seek the help, now that they no longer work full time."It's very difficult to...
from Boston Business Journalby Naomi R. KookerThe Eos Foundation has pledged $15 million to be paid over five years to combat poverty in the Boston area, the Harwich Port-based foundation announced Wednesday.The money will be used to jumpstart an independent nonprofit, Boston Rising, and will be modeled after Robin Hood -- an innovative New York City-based group that draws significant support from hedge fund, financial, and industry leading professionals. Robin Hood reported distributed more than $130 million last year alone, according to Eos' release.The Eos Foundation plans to leverage its gift; it is in the process of raising matching funds to increase the impact, according to the release.Currently, Boston Rising is an initiative established by Eos President Andrea Silbert, the...
from The RepublicanBy STAN FREEMANsfreeman@repub.comSPRINGFIELD - With troubling implications for the city's future, Springfield ranked sixth worst in the nation for the percentage of its children living in poverty in 2006, according to recent census figures.The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey found that 44.6 percent of people under age 18 in Springfield lived below the federal poverty line in 2006. That was more than three times higher than the state's child poverty rate, 12.4 percent, and well more than twice the national rate of 18.3 percent in 2006.Those who study poverty say it is at the root of many social problems, and so has effects far beyond itself."Down the road, there's going to be a negative impact in terms of spending on crime, education and social services,"...
from South Coast Today comIn communities of plenty, many border on homelessnessBy JOSEPH R. LaPlanteWAREHAM — Joann can't afford the rent.After only two months in her drafty Onset cottage, she's moving out. And she worries that the $550 security deposit she put down is in jeopardy if the place isn't cleared of her furniture when she leaves.Shortly after moving in, Joann realized she could not afford to stay in the asphalt-shingled cottage. She countered the cold blowing in through cracks in window frames and door jams by turning up the thermostat. The resulting $85 gas bill amounts to more than 10 percent of her monthly $800 Social Security check."When I first came, it looked pretty good, compared to the motels and some of the apartments," said Joann, 64, who asked that her last name...