'.
I I
� 5, 1988, Michigan Citizen 3
I
Aid "for mothers su
,
cuts
I Continued from Pag 1
though DSS is losing about $21
. million in state funds, said C.
I Patrick Babcock, director of the
Department of Social Services.
Before Jan. 1, Medicaid
coverage only applied to about
43 percent of families living
below the poverty line, a level
federally calculated to coincide
with various size households, he
said.
. Poor families with expectant
mothers and those with y ung
children were judged by the
arne criteria.
POVER1Y LINE IS GUIDE
A family no simply must
earn less than an amount deter­
mined as the maximum poverty­
level income for a given
household size, hus increasing
the number of families eligible
for Medicaid.
All medical expenses of
children ages 2 and under, as
well as doctor's delivery bills and
postnatal care services are
covered under the new
Medicaid category.
•
Before the newprogram was
established,' expectant mothers
considered medically high risk
were eligible for Department of
Public Health coverage for
themselves and their newborn
children up to age 18 months, ex­
cluding child labor and post­
delivery co ts, said Donna Hut­
ten, DPH con ultant. .
The main difference with the
Medicaid option is that it is
available to greater numbers of
people, said. Kevin Seitz, DSS
medical services administration
director.
At least 3,000 to 3,500 more
people will be eligible for the
DSS ver ion because it covers
delivery and postnatal costs,
older children, and is honored
by licensed physicians and
-,
greater numbers of hospitals
and clinics, said Nancy Duncan,
director of the DSS Office of
Planning, Budget and Evalua-
tion. .
In fact, the main reason for
retaining it is that it is a cheaper,
more effective version of the
DPH provision, Seitz said.
FEDERAL HELP'
. DSS is better able to afford
the program - which will cost
about $5.5 million this year -
through fiscal year 1988-89 than
DPH because Medicaid funds
will be up about $29 million,
Se�zs�d �
Also, the DPH program ran
exclusively on state funding
during an economic slump.
Medicaid, which is half federal­
ly funded, puts less of a burden
on the state's economy Seitz
said .
The extended Medicaid
coverage, which was made an
optional category by federal
amendments en cted a few
years ago, was d pted by the
Legislature to �elp counter a
skyrocketing infant-mortality
rate.
. "Last year, families who
received benefits from
Medicaid had about 25 percent
of the live births in the state,"
Babcock said in an interview.
"The instances of infant mor-·
tality were about 50 percent (of
all live births).
"Incidence of infant mortality
and severe health problems for
children with families on ADC
(Aid to Families Dependent
Children), and near ADC, is
double the average for the total
population.
HIGH RISK GROUP AIDED
The plan is to help an "at-risk
population" of infants and young
children susceptible to fatal and .
chronic diseases, he added.
o
place
Continued from P 1
of the research' is paid for
through private industries,
which are more interested in
developing areas such as recy­
cling or longer shelf life.
"There's interest in
biodegradables, but i 's not an� ..
thing we'll see any great re-
carch effort in the immediate
future" Hughe. aid, adding
developing thes kinds of plas­
tics may not necessarily be
beneficial. _
"When they break down, they
could break down into orne­
thing we may n t like," he said.
Hughes noted that non­
biodegradable materials make
up 6 to 7 percent of the total
solidwaste, which he aidare on
t the market bccau e they are
more efficient product.. If they
were replaced with gJa , which
i. not biodegradable, or paper
products, which often are
coated in plasti , moresolid
waste probably would be
producted.
"I'm glad. to see the stat�
making a concerted effort in'
olid wa t c management,"
Hughc aid. "It's long overdue,
but I hope we don't get dis­
tracted away from the big
problem."
The director said theschool is
researching the developmen of
plastics that can be recycled,
specifically in pia tic milk jugs.
POSSIbilities for advancements
already exist for certain plastics
and likely can be made in many
others, Hughe. said. What ·11
The program is a big at a person or family be at or
breakthrough, said Jan SalODS, elow the yearly determined ·
DSS supervisor of Medicaid overty level, and meet the usual
eligibility. edicaid demands - such as al- I
"It is the first Medicaid eady receiving ADC or having
category that has not looked at- family member who is under 21
assets or bank accounts at all in ears, blind or disabled, she said.
determining eligibility.t she said- Suppose, for example, a
"That's just astounding." ung family - composed of a
Of abo u t 20 cI ass e 50 - 0 f I ther, an expectant mother, a 5-
Medicaid, the new program is· ar-old and a 2-year-old - wish-
the only one that does not re- i g to recieve Medicaid.
qu e a family to own less than a 1 Before the new plan, the
certain value in assets, not f . y would have had to make
counting the assessments of a der about $622 per month -
house, one car and burial plots.. ,469 per year - and' Possess less
Salmons said. t an $9,500 in assets, not includ-
The only requirements are ing the values of a house, one car
ahd burial plots.
ra
be difficult i. developing and
. paying for recycling system, he
added.
Anot her effort could reduce
a ut 20 percent of Michigan'
solid waste stream that is made
up from compo t materials such
as I leaves and yard clippings.
material could be turned
into fertilizer while saving one
fifth of the landfill space, Kov­
tcva said.
But one company from
Grand Rapid has taken the in­
itiative in the Great Lake area
without any governmental fund­
ing, already cutting back in solid
waste and saving industrie
money.
The Was e Systems nstitute
of Michigan Inc. sp nsors a
waste "clearinghouse" magazine
Great Lakes Ex­
change, which solicits about
15,000 businesses for list of
waste materials either want d or
. available, said Bill Stough, waste
exchange .managcr.
We're something like h
matchmaker of waste material,"
. Stough added.
The s rvicc is available no
�st to any private business hat
generate solid waste material.
in the six- tate region around the
reat Lakes, he said, adding the
project was started four y ar
8 0 and now pay for itself.
The company does an
a alysis f the exchange every
si month, and each time m re
businesse take advantag of the
se�ce, he sid. Bu ine es re
be ng forced to look at alterna-
I
,
,
As of J an. 1, this hypothetical
family has been eli�ble, that is,
as long as it makes under $1,091
per month - $13rmper year.
Currently, a person is fman­
cially eligible for the new
Medicaid category it possessing
an annual income under $5,496;
a family of two, $7,392; a family
of three, $9,300; offour, $11,1�;
of six, $15,000; seve $16,896;
I ight, $18,m; nine, $20,700; 10,
$22,596.
Now that the progrqam is in
p1ace, the greatest challenge is
increasing the quality of care in
rural and unprofitable urban
areas, Babcock" said.
/
ives to landfill ccausc the bur­
en of thi co t will radically
• hange in the next five year , he
aid.
"The waste will truly reprc­
nt the cost f landfilling,"
trough said. " efore the co t
as with the pub . c, now the co t:
i up front"
Paper recycling is another big
pect of pending environmen­
t I bill, incluidng expansion f
t e tate', ffice Paper
covcry pro 'ram. which n iw
r cycles an iut 1 tons of pap er
f om . tat· ov rnm nt offices
c ch year.
Anr thcr .initi tivc launched
b the ovornor is directed
t ward educating con umcrv
st tewide about t e environ­
ntaJ benefits f recycled
lias.