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Poverty on the rise in Louisiana

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The poverty rate in Louisiana – already among the nation’s highest – continues to climb, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The percentage of people without health coverage is also on the rise, according to data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

While more complete figures won’t be available until Thursday, analysis of two-year average survey data shows Louisiana is one of a handful of states that saw a statistically significant increase in poverty between 2009-2010 and 2011-2012, even as the national poverty rate remained essentially unchanged. Most states either saw their poverty rate decrease or stay largely the same over that time period, while Louisiana saw the biggest increase.

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New USDA data reveals food insecurity problem in Louisiana

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The prevalence of food insecurity in Louisiana has grown significantly since the Great Recession, indicating that more individuals and families – especially those with children younger than 18 – are lacking enough money to purchase food at some point in the year.

According to a release on food security from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly one in six households in Louisiana struggle against hunger. Louisiana’s level of food insecurity is greater than the national level – 15.7 percent versus 14.7 percent – and the increase in food insecurity has grown more quickly in Louisiana than at the national level since the start of the Great Recession. The number of Louisiana households that spend a portion of the year without adequate means to buy food has grown by 5.7 percent between 2007-09 and 2010-12, while the national rate has grown by only 1.2 percent.

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LBP: Health-care prospects to improve

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Louisiana Budget Project analyst Steve Spires wrote a letter to the editor of the Advocate Thursday, clarifying earlier claims by Blue Cross about health-care costs that consumers should know before the new law takes effect in January. Spires notes that most individuals will be shielded from premium cost increases due to new federal tax credits that will “allow thousands of uninsured, moderate-income families to afford private coverage for the first time, and will help reduce premiums for others.”

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