• Dentistry,  Pew Center on the States

    Pew Center: The State of Children’s Dental Health

    May 23, 2011 /

    The Pew Center on the States is up with their latest state grades on children’s dental health.

    More than 16 million children still lack access to basic dental care despite efforts by states to improve their dental health policies, according to this year’s 50-state report card from Pew.

    The State of Children’s Dental Health: Making Coverage Matter graded states’ ability to serve insured and soon-to-be insured children. In the face of major budget shortfalls, 22 states were able to raise their 2010 grades, proving that dental health policies can be improved at a relatively low cost.

    Pew graded the states based on eight benchmarks that are a roadmap for policymakers looking to improve and expand access to children’s dental health. The grades reflect changes that have occurred since Pew’s initial assessment in 2010.

    While many states have made significant strides in improving oral health policies, too may kids children without proper dental care, mainly because of a shortage of dentists willing to serve Medicaid-enrolled patients.

    I will have more to say on their report in the morning, but for now, here are the key findings.

    • 27 states earned grades of an A or B, while 23 states and the District of Columbia received a C or lower grade.
    • 22 states raised their grades and six of them have improved by at least two letter grades: Arkansas, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah and West Virginia.
    • Seven states received an A grade, and five earned an F.  Three of those five states—Florida, Hawaii and New Jersey—got an F for the second consecutive year.
    • States that raised their grades made progress primarily by reimbursing physicians for preventative dental services, expanding water fluoridation and increasing the percentage of Medicaid-enrolled children who receive care.
    • 23 states made no progress over last year’s grades.
    • Six states received lower grades mainly because Medicaid reimbursement rates have not kept pace with the growth in dentists’ fees.

    California received a grade of “C” which is surprising due to the fact that the state eliminated Dental Medicaid for adults. But, I suppose this is a children’s report. I will discuss the methodology and their findings tomorrow.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 23rd on 16:38

    May 23, 2011 /

    These are my links for May 23rd from 16:38 to 16:58:

  • Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  President 2012,  Sarah Palin,  Tim Pawlenty

    President 2012: The 2012 GOP Presidential Field is Set?

    May 23, 2011 /

    Republican Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announces he is running for President in Des Moines, Iowa, May 23, 2011

    Yes. Probably so.

    High-level Republican leaders tell POLITICO that they now believe the top tier of the presidential field is set, and that no major donors or operatives will remain on the sidelines hoping a dream candidate will make a last-minute entry.

    These leaders calculate that they are better off to accept the Mitch Daniels-less field as it is and not continue to waffle, letting President Barack Obama continue to build strength while the GOP dawdles.

    “The waiting is over,” said Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman and counselor to President George W. Bush. “Things are going to accelerate pretty quickly now.”

    “You’re seeing everything you’re going to get,” said a Republican who has talked privately with the leading candidates.

    The energy in the party, of course, is currently in the tea-party and social conservative wings—there’s support in those quarters for Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who is increasingly looking like a candidate, and Sarah Palin, whose plans are a mystery.

    And a group of Iowa GOP donors is scheduled to travel to New Jersey at the end of the month to encourage Gov. Chris Christie to run.

    But the GOP establishment is now convinced that Mitt Romney is the front-runner, and that Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman have a narrow window to determine who will become the stronger alternative – the anti-Mitt in the GOP field.

    It will be Mitt Romney versus Tim Pawlenty in one semi-final contests to face off against Michele Bachman or Sarah Palin. Romney is the most likely victor here with T-Paw or Mitt Daniels as the Vice President selection.

    Two game changers would be Sarah Palin and Chris Christie but despite some overtures for him to run, I think he probably stays out.

    But, this from Romney advisors is kind of strange. Sarah Palin is unpredictable and why antagonize the Mama Grizzly?

    In an interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity last week, Palin said she was “still seriously considering it.”

    Republicans officials have no idea what she’s planning, although they agree she would have tons to lose by entering a race that would cost her the mystique she has built up. And Romney advisers said her entry would help the former Massachusetts governor dramatically.

    “The shock value would cause elected officials and party officials to rally around Mitt, because she’d scare the daylights out of them,” one official said. “And it would allow him to position himself very much in the middle of Republican, conservative thinking and avoid the fringe, and look more moderate for the general election.”

    Bachmann would have the same effect, the advisers said. Either of them “gives Romney a bogeyman: ‘Stop this crazy woman.’”

    Another top Republican said he relishes the idea of a Palin candidacy: “She’ll be defeated, and we’ll be done with her.”

    I think Sarah Palin would be able to defeat Michele Bachmann in Iowa and then South Carolina becomes the battleground, where Romney could finish third or fourth. The race could then blow up and drag on for weeks or months – something the GOP can ill-afford against Obama.

    It is probably better for the Romney staff to keep their mouths shut and ask Sarah to give some speeches and do some fundraising for them.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 23rd on 15:58

    May 23, 2011 /

    These are my links for May 23rd from 15:58 to 16:38:

    • Two patients died after waiting in ambulance outside ‘full’ Oldham hospital unit – Two patients died after being left waiting in ambulances outside an over-stretched hospital.

      The patients, believed to have been in their 80s, couldn’t get into the Royal Oldham Hospital for seven and 20 minutes respectively.

      They were assessed by ambulance crews as ‘very sick’ and were both suspected of having suffered heart attacks.

      The A&E department was so busy that all but the most urgent cases were being sent to other hospitals at the time. All five resuscitation beds at Oldham were full.

      The two patients were assessed and treated by a casualty doctor and senior nurse in the ambulances.

      It is understood neither actually had suffered a heart attack by the time they were admitted – although both later died at the hospital. One died in the resuscitation unit the following day and the other three days after being admitted to a ward.

      A probe has been launched after ambulance chiefs reported the incident to regional health authority NHS North West.

      =======

      Read it all.

      Get ready for ObamaCare

    • CA-36: What Went Wrong in the L.A. Special Election? – Hahn is expected to win the July run-off, but we expect turnout to be even lower. Huey can easily self-fund with another $500,000, and labor will have to expend its scarce resources to crank its turnout effort and put Hahn over the top. As blogger Marta Evry pointed out, Hahn will win the special election in July – but re-districting could change the demographics and make the district more Republican in 2012. Her complete analysis is well worth reading in full, but I’ll just quote one line from it: “Janice Hahn’s strategic choices, coupled with Marcy Winograd’s ego, may have created a perfect storm in which a to bring a previously unknown Tea Party candidate to national prominence.”

      ======

      Read it all…..

      From the LEFT perspective…..

    • Janice Hahn Won The Battle In 2011. Could She Lose The War In 2012? – From what I've heard and read, CA-36 is probably going to lose everything north of LAX, and potentially gain back Palos Verdes. Palos Verdes, connected to an Orange County district by a block-wide strip in Long Beach and a narrow strip of San Pedro, is profoundly gerrymandered. Those Republicans have to go somewhere.

      If this happens, it would significantly cut into Democrat's voter registration advantage, and create a district that more closely resembles the one in which Janice Hahn previously ran for congress in 1998.

      Hahn lost that race, to Republican Steve Kuykendall, 47% to 49%.

      Janice Hahn got the opponent she wanted. But by helping to advance Huey into the runoff, Hahn has elevated him from an unknown evangelical advertising consultant to a national figure in the Tea Party movement. The media isn't ignoring Craig Huey anymore. He has two months to build up his name recognition and base of support. And when he loses in July, he can turn right around and start stumping for the June 2012 primary race in a district likely to be far more receptive to his message.

      ======

      Read it all.

      Craig Huey indeed could lose in July and still come out the winner.

    • Jon Huntsman Jr., potential GOP candidate hits California for fundraising swing : – Former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr.is heading to California this week — just in time to pump up his fundraising base as the 2012 GOP presidential race shapes up.

      The former Utah Governor, who's been described as the possible GOP candidate "Democrats fear most," hits San Francisco Tuesday, Los Angeles Wednesday and Orange County on Thursday of this week. The Palo Alto native will be having private meetings with California donors and supporters, sources say.

      ======

      Money will never be Huntsman's problem but his moderate position on the issues will be.

    • President 2012: Not the whole truth in Pawlenty claims – Truth" was Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's buzzword Monday when he announced his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He said he will tell the truth about hard choices facing the nation while others — President Barack Obama notably among them — do not.
      A parsing of Pawlenty's opening-day statements shows they were not the whole truth.
      Here is a sampling of his claims Monday and how they compare with the facts.
      ___
      PAWLENTY: "The truth is, people getting paid by the taxpayers shouldn't get a better deal than the taxpayers themselves. That means freezing federal salaries, transitioning federal employee benefits, and downsizing the federal work force as it retires." — Campaign announcement.
      THE FACTS: A federal pay freeze is already in effect. Obama proposed and Congress approved a two-year freeze on the pay of federal employees, exempting the armed forces, Congress and federal courts.
      ___
      PAWLENTY: "ObamaCare is unconstitutional." — USA Today column.
      THE FACTS: Obama's health care overhaul might be unconstitutional in Pawlenty's opinion, but it is not in fact unless the Supreme Court says so. Lower court rulings have been split.
      ___
      PAWLENTY: "Barack Obama has consistently stood for higher taxes." — Campaign announcement.
      THE FACTS: Obama's record shows more tax cutting than tax raising. The stimulus plan early in his presidency cut taxes broadly for the middle class and business, and more recently he won a substantial cut in Social Security taxes for a year. He also campaigned in support of extending the Bush-era tax cuts for all except the wealthy, whose taxes he wanted to raise. In office, he accepted a deal from Republicans extending the tax cuts for all. As for tax increases, Obama won congressional approval to raise them on tobacco and tanning salons. The penalty for those who don't buy health insurance, once coverage is mandatory, is a form of taxation.
      ___
      PAWLENTY: "For decades before I was elected, governors tried and failed to get Minnesota out of the top 10 highest-taxed states in the country. I actually did it." — Campaign announcement.
      THE FACTS: Minnesota remains among the 10 worst states in its overall tax climate, according to the Tax Foundation. In its 2011 State Business Tax Climate Index, the anti-tax organization ranks Minnesota 43rd, making it the eighth worst state. The ranking slipped from 41st two years earlier. The index considers corporate, individual, sales, unemployment insurance and property taxes.

      ======

      Read them all.

      Tim Pawlenty will NOT be the GOP nominee.

  • Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Newt Gingrich,  Polling,  President 2012,  Ron Paul,  Rudy Giuliani,  Tim Pawlenty

    President 2012 New Hampshire GOP Poll Watch: Romney 32% Paul 9% Gingrich 6% Palin 5% Bachmann 4%

    May 23, 2011 /

    According to the latest University of New Hampshire/WMUR/CNN Poll.

    Primary Election Head to Head:

    • Romney  32% 
    • Paul  9% 
    • Gingrich  6% 
    • Giuliani  6% 
    • Palin  5% 
    • Bachmann  4% 
    • Cain  4% 
    • Daniels #  4% 
    • Huntsman  4% 
    • Pawlenty  4% 
    • Santorum  2% 
    • Johnson  * 
    • Someone else  3% 
    • No opinion  17% 

    * Less than 1%    # Daniels announced that he would not run on last day of interviewing. 

    Satisfied with GOP candidates? – Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you  with the choice of candidates for the Republican nomination for President next year?  Are you 

    very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied?

    • Very satisfied  9% 
    • Somewhat satisfied  42% 
    • Somewhat dissatisfied  28% 
    • Very dissatisfied  15% 
    • No opinion  6% 

    Strongest GOP Leader:

    • Romney  40% 
    • Giuliani  12% 
    • Gingrich  11% 
    • Palin  3% 
    • Paul  3% 
    • Pawlenty  3% 
    • Bachmann  2% 
    • Cain  1% 
    • Daniels  1% 
    • Santorum  1% 
    • Huntsman  * 
    • Johnson  * 
    • Someone else  2% 
    • No opinion  20%

    Most Believable GOP candidate:

    • Romney  20% 
    • Paul  12% 
    • Gingrich  7% 
    • Palin  6% 
    • Bachmann  5% 
    • Cain  5% 
    • Giuliani  5% 
    • Pawlenty  5% 
    • Huntsman  4% 
    • Daniels  3% 
    • Santorum  2% 
    • Someone else  2% 
    • No opinion  23%

    Most Likeable GOP candidate:

    • Romney  29% 
    • Palin  10% 
    • Giuliani  8% 
    • Paul  7% 
    • Bachmann  6% 
    • Pawlenty  6% 
    • Gingrich  4% 
    • Cain  3% 
    • Huntsman  2% 
    • Santorum  2% 
    • Daniels  1% 
    • Johnson  * 
    • Karger  * 
    • Roemer  * 
    • Someone else  3% 
    • No opinion  17%

    Best GOP candidate to beat President Obama:

    • Romney  42% 
    • Giuliani  4% 
    • Pawlenty  4% 
    • Daniels  3% 
    • Gingrich  3% 
    • Palin  3% 
    • Bachmann  2% 
    • Cain  2% 
    • Huntsman  2% 
    • Paul  1% 
    • Santorum  1% 
    • Someone else  2% 
    • No opinion  31%

    Is there any doubt that Mitt Romney is far and above any other candidate in New Hampshire?

     

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 23rd on 13:45

    May 23, 2011 /

    These are my links for May 23rd from 13:45 to 13:46:

    • Some observations as Mitch Daniels bows out – So Mitch Daniels is not running for president. That’s what I expected—on Tuesdays and Thursday and alternate weekends; on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I was convinced he would run, and on the leftover weekends I was uncertain.

      Let’s review the bidding.

      In, in alphabetical order: Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum.

      Probably in: Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman.

      Probably not in: John Bolton, Sarah Palin.

       Out: Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, Mike Huckabee, Mike Pence, John Thune.

       Declared out but still being wooed: Chris Christie, Rick Perry, Paul Ryan.

      =======

      Read it all….

    • President 2012: Exeunt Omnes – Not running: Mike Huckabee, the 2008 runner-up; John Thune, the likeliest candidate from the Senate, the body that has produced the out-party candidate in 2008, 2004, and 1996; Mike Pence, who could lay as much claim as anyone to represent the conservative movement; and Haley Barbour and Mitch Daniels, effective two-term governors with impressive D.C. experience as well.

      Pretty amazing.

      It would be unfair to call the current field a vacuum. But it doesn't exactly represent an overflowing of political talent. And insofar as politics abhors even a near-vacuum, others are bound to get in. I now think the odds are better than 50-50 that both Rick Perry and Paul Ryan run. I also now think they (and others—Sarah Palin, Chris Christie, John Bolton) may not feel they have to decide until after Labor Day—or maybe even until October or even November. The field could well remain open and fluid until Thanksgiving.

      =====

      Bill Kristol has a point that the field may not be settled for some time.

      But, it really looks like Romney now will be the nominee.

  • California,  Jerry Brown,  United States Supreme Court

    California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro Slams Democrats on SCOTUS Decision to Force Prisoner Release

    May 23, 2011 /

    California State Prison in Lancaster
    Photo from Los Angeles Times

    You remember the story from this morning?

    Now, the California Republican Party is weighing into the issue.

    From the press release:

    California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to force California’s prisons to release 46,000 convicted felons:

    “The reason for this unfortunate Supreme Court decision lies with those in charge of the California legislature for the last two decades.  While the Democrat leadership has wasted $23,000 per Assembly and Senate bill on thousands of unnecessary bills each year, not to mention wasteful programs, they have failed in their most basic obligation to keep Californians safe by building adequate prisons. Now that neglect is taking the form of the forced release of 46,000 prisoners. It is a dereliction beyond shameful.”

    Well, yeah. The Democrats have had a hammer lock on the California Legislature for decades and now hold all of the statewide Constitutional offices.

    So, what say you Jerry Brown?

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 23rd on 03:03

    May 23, 2011 /

    These are my links for May 23rd from 03:03 to 10:37:

  • Anthony Kennedy,  California,  United States Supreme Court

    U.S. Supreme Court Says Let California Prisoners Out

    May 23, 2011 /

    California Prison in Chino, California, February 2009

    Not a direct order, but this will be the result of their decision released this morning.

    A closely divided Supreme Court on Monday cited “serious constitutional violations” in California’s overcrowded prisons and ordered the state to abide by aggressive plans to fix the problem.

    In a decision closely watched by other states, the court by a 5-4 margin concluded the prison overcrowding violated constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Pointedly, the court rejected California’s bid for more time and leeway.

    “The violations have persisted for years,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. “They remain uncorrected.”

    The court agreed that a prisoner-release plan devised by a three-judge panel is necessary in order to alleviate the overcrowding. The court also upheld the two-year deadline imposed by the three-judge panel.

    “For years, the medical and mental health care provided by California’s prisons has fallen short of minimum constitutional requirements and has failed to meet prisoners’ basic health needs,” Kennedy wrote.

    Driving the point home, the court’s majority made the highly unusual if not unprecedented move of including stark black-and-white photographs of a jam-packed room at Mule Creek State Prison and cages at Salinas Valley State Prison. Conservative dissenters, in turn, warned dire consequences will result.

    But, California is broke and on the verge of insolvency. Where does SCOTUS seem to think the money to relieve overcrowding will come?

    The simple solution will be letting tens of thousands of convicted felons out of prison and onto the streets. What could go wrong?

    “Today the court affirms what is perhaps the most radical injunction issued by a court in our nation’s history, an order requiring California to release the staggering number of 46,000 convicted felons,” Justice Antonin Scalia declared.

    Eighteen states — including Texas, Alaska and South Carolina — explicitly supported California’s bid for more leeway in reducing prison overcrowding. These states worry that they, too, might face court orders to release inmates.

    California’s 33 state prisons held about 147,000 inmates, at the time of the Supreme Court’s oral arguments last November. This is down from a high of some 160,000 previously cited in legal filings. The higher figure amounted to “190 percent of design capacity,” officials said.

    Last year, a three-judge panel ordered California to reduce its inmate population to 137.5 percent of design capacity within two years. That’s the equivalent of about 110,000 inmates.

    The California Legislature dominated by the Democrats and Democrat Governor Jerry Brown are scrambling to transfer 30,000 prisoners to Count Jails rather than let them go. But, how will the counties pay for this transfer?

    Last month, Gov. Jerry Brown signed A.B. 109, which shifts to counties the responsibility for incarcerating many low-risk inmates. Up to 30,000 state prison inmates could be transferred to county jails over three years, under the bill; first, however, state officials must agree on a way to pay for it.

    “The prison system has been a failure,” Brown stated when he signed the bill “Cycling (lower-level) offenders through state prisons wastes money, aggravates crowded conditions, thwarts rehabilitation and impedes local law enforcement supervision.”

    Somehow I don’t think California residents when they are subjected to the increased crime and the recidivism of these felons are going to take to kindly to the POLS who are letting these folks go. But, the biggest effect may be the hesitation of business to remain in California where their employees do not feel safe.

    Of course, California may decide to not release thousands of felons but transfer them to other states and the counties. But, who is going to pay for this?

    California could change the parole rules as well but this would result in more felons out of incarceration and on the streets. – ready to commit more crimes.

    Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote on the Court, and a Californian did nothing for his fellow Golden Staters.