Nineteen schools in Delaware are piloting a new state law that requires students to be tested on their physical fitness and reports on the results to be sent home to parents. The testing--which includes a mile run, push ups, sit ups, pull ups, a flexibility test and a measurement of body-fat percentage--is mandatory for students in participating elementary, middle and high schools. The grant money for the program is being used by some schools to increase the amount of time students are active during each week, including incorporating physical activity into more sedentary classes.
HEALTHY TEETH
Multiple studies indicate that tooth decay is the leading chronic childhood disease and that children from low-income families are disproportionately affected--suffering twice the decay of their higher-income counterparts. To bring better dental health to its less- affluent children, Rhode Island has started RIte Smiles, a program that offers Medicaid-eligible children born on or after May 1, 2000, preventive and primary dental care. Children who already have dental insurance will not be eligible to receive the benefits. While the program currently covers children only up to the age of 5, those who reach their sixth birthday will continue to receive benefits. This way, all children needing assistance will be phased into the program over the next 10 years, and the state will not incur a large cost all at once. As of the end of 2006, 31,720 children were enrolled.
HOSPITAL CONTRACTION
Multiple New York State hospitals are in bankruptcy and nursing homes have been operating at a loss for years, leading a special commission on health facilities to recommend the shuttering of nine hospitals and seven nursing homes. Those closings were scheduled to take effect unless the state legislature intervened before the end of 2006. It didn't, which means that 7 percent of the state's hospital beds and 3 percent of nursing home beds will be cut. These changes are expected to save Medicaid hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Under an agreement with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, New York will receive $300 million per year for five years from the feds to aid in implementing the recommendations. The consolidation process is part of CMS efforts to work with states to reduce Medicaid costs.
