2008 Medicare Costs for Parts A and B

• LSNJ brief
• Reply brief 

• Archive of articles in Michelle Singletary’s The Color of Money column (from The Washington Post)

AG Issues Directive On State And Local Law Enforcement Agencies And Federal Immigration Laws

• Police Voice Concerns Over a Directive on Immigrants (from The New York Times - free registration required)
• Press Release (from the Office of The Attorney General)
• Law Enforcement Directive No. 2007-3 (from the Office of The Attorney General)

New Jersey Kids Count 2007 is the most recent report in an annual series published by the Association for Children of New Jersey in partnership with a national statistical effort sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. New Jersey Kids Count uses indicators like poverty, income, child health and test scores to draw a statistical portrait of the well-being of New Jersey’s children, as a way to inform the public and policy-makers about important children’s issues.

• New Jersey Kids Count 2007 report
• For youngest New Jerseyans, hurdles are higher (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required)

Legal Services of Northern California has launched the Web site for the Race Equity Project (REP)

NJ Housing Authorities Receiving Family Self Sufficiency Awards (from Department of Housing and Urban Development)

Medicaid Commission Report & Recommendations (from United States Department of Health & Human Services) - This December, the Medicaid Commission released it's final report and recommendations.

The Bankrupt-Your-Family Calling Plan (from The New York Times - free registration required) - This editorial attacks the “morally indefensible” system that charges inmates’ families exorbitant rates – up to six times the going rate for collect calls – for collect calls placed from inside state prisons. The editorial notes that state prisons get legalized kickbacks for the phone charges, which are called “commissions,” and that phone bills of family members can “reach in to the hundreds of dollars a month.” These rates “gouge[] the poorest citizens – driving them deeper into poverty.”   The editorial further suggests that this is especially difficult for incarcerated parents, who comprise more than half of the prison population. The editorial concludes that the exorbitant rates are “cruel and counterproductive” because studies demonstrate that staying in touch with family and friends is a vital part of reducing recidivism.)

Let the renter beware: Jersey tenants don't get 'suite' deals (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required)

State seeks overhaul of health care (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required) - Reforms would mandate medical insurance for all.

Court Rejects Interpretation of Immigration Drug Law (from The New York Times - free registration required)

Two new App. Div. cases on child support.

• Tretola v. Tretola addresses the need for a plenary hearing and proofs of college attendance to defend against a claim of emancipation.
• Forrestall v. Forrestall clarifies that child support calculations should include income from employer to a 401K plan.

Mexicans are worse off in N.J. than in rest of U.S. (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required)

SSA News Release Public Warned about E-mail Scam (from The Official Website of U.S. Social Security Administration)

Housing Vouchers Funded in New Jersey Under Pending Proposals (from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

Lozner v. Lozner - App. Div. held that substantial student loan debt may be basis for alteration of a guidelines-based child support award, if is was reasonably necessary for the education and the goal was improving earning capacity.

Lewis v. Harris - NJ Supreme Court holds that same-sex couples are entitled to all of rights, benefits, and obligations of marriage afforded to mixed-sex couples who legally marry. The majority opinion by Justice Albin requires the legislature to modify the statutes within 180 days, and to select whether the word “marriage” or some other word, like Civil Union, will be utilized. The minority opinion by Chief Justice Poritz indicates that nothing short of the word marriage satisfies the mandates of the New Jersey Constitution.

Wal - Mart to Sell $4 Generic Drugs in 14 More States (from The New York Times - free registration required)

Medicare drug plan stability disputed (from USA Today) - Premiums for Part D Plans in 2007 have increased significantly.

Copy of the stand-alone Part D plans for Medicare beneficiaries in New Jersey for 2007. Please note that the plans denoted with an asterisk in the 2nd column ("$0 Premiums with full Low-Income Subsidy") are the plans that Medicaid and PAAD beneficiaries may join to have their premiums, co-pays, and deductibles covered by the state.

Many low-income beneficiaries will be able to remain in the Part D plan they had this year but some will be auto-assigned to other no-premium plans because their current plan is no longer offered. Please remember that dual eligibles (Medicare AND Medicaid coverage) may change plans at anytime but, except in certain circumstances, other Medicare beneficiaries may only change Part D plans during the open enrollment period from November 15th through December 31st.

Public Housing Squeezed Between Higher Utility Costs and Stagnant Funding: Low-Income Families Will Bear Brunt of Shortfalls (from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

Poor Jerseyans have limited access to legal aid, study finds (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required)

Jersey City hospital 'at risk of failure,' finance report says (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required)

Special Report: Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates (from U.S. Department of Justice) - At midyear 2005 more than half of all prison and jail inmates had a mental health problem, including 705,600 inmates in State prisons, 70,200 in Federal prisons, and 479,900 in local jails. These estimates represented 56% of State prisoners, 45% of Federal prisoners, and 64% of jail inmates.

Real Wages Fail to Match a Rise in Productivity (from The New York Times - free registration required) - Wages and salaries now make up the lowest share of the nation’s economy since the U.S. began recording the data in 1947.

Newark agency will slash 425 jobs (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required) - Housing authority to cut nearly half its work force.

Increase in Income Eligibility for NJ FamilyCare and Medicaid:

As of Friday, September 1, 2006, the income eligibility limit for the state’s NJ FamilyCare program (and the AFDC-related Medicaid program) increases from 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL) to 115% FPL for parents of children under age 19. As an example, the parent in a one-parent household with two children will be eligible with annual income at or below $19,090 ($1,591/month) and the parents in a household with two parents and two children will be eligible with annual income at or below $23,000($1,917/month).

The income eligibility limit for children remains much higher at 350% FPL (for example, $58,100 annual income for a household of three).

Parents may apply for Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare at their local county board of social services, online at www.njfamilycare.org or by contacting the Health Care Access Project at Legal Services of New Jersey for assistance (1-888-576-5529).

Public Housing Agency (PHA) Cost-Savings Initiatives in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program. (from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Public and Indian Housing) - A recent HUD Notice [PIH 2006-32 (HA)] states that, before denying a voucher holder's request to port to a higher cost area, the PHA currently administering the voucher must demonstrate that approval of that specific request will cause the PHA to have to terminate current program participants. PHAs almost certainly will have trouble doing so in any individual case. Similar proof is also required for waiver requests to HUD.

Medicare has mistakenly refunded premium amounts to 230,000 beneficiaries across the country who are enrolled in Part D Drug plans (from Department of Health and Human Services) - These beneficiaries are now being notified that they are required to pay the money back to Medicare.

Lead Alerts (from the LEAP Coalition)

Census Shows Growth of Immigrants (from The New York Times - free registration required) - The number of immigrants living in U.S. households rose 16 percent over the last five years, fueled largely by recent arrivals from Mexico.

Sudden Debt (from AARP The Magazine) - A recent article in AARP magazine looks at the dangerous practices of banks making expensive overdraft loans, a common scheme in New Jersey in connection with “free” checking accounts. The article also looks at high-rate payday and auto title loans, which are illegal under New Jersey law, but which affect New Jersey consumers when offered by lenders in other states, or illegally over the internet.

100,000 Units of Housing Are Planned in New Jersey (from The New York Times - free registration required)

An Estate Tax Twist Reverses Party Roles on Minimum Wage (from The Washington Post)

Brunswick v. Bernadine. New tenant/landlord decision won by Greg Diebold and Tania Garcia-Millan of NNJLS.

Brookings Report on the “Ghetto Tax” (from The Brookings Institution) - The Brookings Institution released a report earlier this week focusing on the higher prices facing low-income consumers for a wide variety of goods in 12 municipalities across the country. Could You Afford to Be Poor? Commentary on the Brookings report by Barbara Ehrenreich (author of Nickel and Dimed)

Cheshire v. Cheshire, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26602, 1-21 (D. Fla. 2006) - Federal Judge in Florida upholds the right of an immigrant to sue sponsor, who is her ex-husband, to enforce the Affidavit of Support he signed to induce the U.S. Government to permit her immigration. This case notes a handful of other unpublished federal decisions enforcing Affidavits of Support. Because the support permitted is contractual, the relief includes all support that would have been owed from the time of the execution of the contract (Affidavit of Support).

New Jersey Department of Children and Families Sets New Course for Child Welfare System (from The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey) - The new Department of Children and Families has reached a negotiated settlement with Children’s Rights, Inc., in their motion to hold NJ in contempt of the original agreement. See the entire agreement.

HHS Issues Final Regulations with Comment on Citizenship Guidelines for Medicaid Eligibility (from the Department of Health and Human Services) - Guidance in advance of publication in the federal register for required proof of citizenship for Medicaid eligibility. The regs should be published July 12th with a 30-day comment period.

UC researcher discovers links to lead, crime (from Cincinnati.com The Enquirer) - The higher the levels, the more likelihood for delinquent behavior.

More children living in poverty pushes Jersey lower in child welfare survey (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required; you may also be able to access this article on Westlaw)

State to end prison ban on interviews with inmates (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required)

State slams door on media access to prisons (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required)

State giving inmates a break on collect calls (from NorthJersey.com)

Job Creation, Wages Stagnant Last Month (from The Washington Post)

Jobs Report Signals Cooling Economy (from The New York Times - free registration required)

Court: Illegal immigrant can collect from accident - Justices say crash victim qualifies as N.J. resident, is entitled to money (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required) - see also the opinion in this case, Caballero v. Martinez.

N.J. jobless rate tops nation's for first time in nearly 3 years (from NewsFlash)

Spending on health care varies widely by state, hospitals (from USA Today) - This report on Medicare spending points out the disparity in hospital spending for Medicare patients in their last two years of life with no advantage to patients’ health condition. New Jersey hospitals are especially noted for spending differences.

Jerseyans without doctors (from The Star-Ledger - free registration required) - New Jersey residents without health insurance are worse off than the uninsured in most other states in terms of getting needed health care, according to a report released today.

Study Shows Americans Sicker Than English (from The New York Times - free registration required) - Last month, a study showed that Hispanics’ health grew worse the longer they resided in the U.S. However, the study reported in today’s New York Times did not include minorities, and looked at a sample of white adults in the U.S. and in England and compared their health status.  Their findings show that the English are considerably healthier than Americans.

New Jersey Public Advocate files Amicus Brief with New Jersey State Supreme Court on Lead Paint Case (from the State of New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate)

A child died last month in Minnesota from lead poisoning (from the Minnesota Department of Health)

Perez v. Rent-A-Center - In a decision that protected consumers, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that rent-to-own contracts are subject to the Retail Installment Sales Act (RISA), the criminal usury interest rate of 30% and the Consumer Fraud Act.

• Supreme Court opinion
• Final Brief
• Supplemental Brief

Education Law: Decision in Bacon v. New Jersey State Department of Education

Education Law: Decision in L.E. v. Ramsey Board of Education

Parents Carry Burden of Proof in School Cases, Court Rules

• Supreme Court decision
• New York Times article (free registration required)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics chief said that the disappointing figure, put at 56,000, could not be blamed on Hurricane Katrina.

• U.S. Economy Adds Fewer Jobs Than Expected in October (from The New York Times - free registration required)
• October Employment Report (from the Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• B.L.S. Statement on Job Situation (from the Bureau of Labor Statistics)

An Atlas of Poverty in America: One Nation, Pulling Apart, 1960-2003, preliminary copy published by Glasmeier with an extended version to be published by Routledge Press in the fall.

• For many moms, job is necessity not choice (from post-gazette.com)