US

Record number in government anti-poverty programs

interns Contributor
Font Size:

Government anti-poverty programs that have grown to meet the needs of recession victims now serve a record one in six Americans and are continuing to expand.

More than 50 million Americans are on Medicaid, the federal-state program aimed principally at the poor, a survey of state data by USA TODAY shows. That’s up at least 17% since the recession began in December 2007.

“Virtually every Medicaid director in the country would say that their current enrollment is the highest on record,” says Vernon Smith of Health Management Associates, which surveys states for Kaiser Family Foundation.

Full story: Record number in government anti-poverty programs – USATODAY.com

WATCH: POLL: OBAMA’S APPROVAL SINKS