Research Paper on "Virginia Public Health Care"

Research Paper 7 pages (2274 words) Sources: 7

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Virginia Public Health Care Economics

Virginia is situated midway between New York and Florida, Virginia is the gateway to the South. It is furthermore sometimes classified in the Mid-Atlantic area. The Commonwealth is surrounded by Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, and Maryland to the north; the Atlantic Ocean to the east; North Carolina and Tennessee to the south; and West Virginia and Kentucky to the west (About Virginia, 2011). Virginia is 42,769 square miles and is the 35th largest state in the nation. As of 2000, there were 7,078,515 residents, making it the 12th most populous state in the country (Virginia, 2010).

Virginia has an economy that is highly varied. Agriculture, once its foundation, now follows other divisions in employment and income production. Tobacco, Virginia's conventional staple, is still the leading crop, and grains, corn, soybeans, peanuts, sweet potatoes, cotton, and apples are all significant. Wine production is also central; but the chief source of agricultural income is now poultry, dairy goods, and cattle, raised particularly in the Valley of Virginia. The coastal fisheries are big, bringing in shellfish, largely oysters and crabs (Economy, 2011).

Coal is Virginia's principal mineral; stone, cement, sand, and gravel are also significant. Roanoke is a hub for the rail transport equipment industry, and a high amount of the nation's shipyards are concentrated at Hampton Roads, particularly in Newport News. Norfolk is a chief U.S. naval base, and Portsmouth is a U.S. naval shipyard; Hampton is a hub for aeronautical research. Northern Virginia has become the home of one of the principal concentration of computer infrastructure firms in the U.S. Other important industries include tourism and the production of chemicals, electrical equipment, and food, textile, and paper goods. Tens of thousands of Virginians work in the government, especially in the District of Columbia or in nearby Beltway suburbs like Reston and Langley (Economy, 2011).

Virginia's economy is balanced, with varied sources of income, including government and military, farming, and business. Virginia has 4.2 million civilian workers, and one-third of the jobs are in the service sector (Virginia State Energy Profiles, 2011). The unemployment rate was 6.7% as of December 2010 (Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary, 2011). The Gross Domestic Product of Virginia was over $408 billion in 2009 (Gross Domestic Product by State, 2010). In 2009, the State of Virginia had 108,466 full time government employees (State Government Employment Data: March 2009 Virginia, 2009). Even though Virginia did experience a rise in foreclosures and a decline in home sales in early 2008, housing prices did not vary considerably. According the Virginia Association of Realtors and the GMU Center for Regional Analysis, an evaluation of average home sales prices in the first quarter of 2007 and 2008 exposed very little alteration; average home sales prices continued at about $300,000 (Bishop, 2011). The current crime rate in Virginia is 31.22% compared to the national median of 39% (Crime rates for Virginia, 2010).

Virginia gathers personal income tax in five income brackets, ranging from 3.0% to 5.75%. The state sales and use tax rate is 4%, while the tax rate on food is 1.5%. There is a supplementary 1% local tax, for a total of a 5% collective sales tax on most Virginia purchases and 2.5% on most food. Virginia's property tax is set and gathered at the local government level and varies all through the Commonwealth. Real estate is also taxed at the local level based on 100% of fair market worth. Concrete personal property also is taxed at the local level and is based on a percentage or percentages of the original price (Virginia Tax Facts, 2008).

The Virginia economy was expected to lose 85,300 jobs in FY 2010 before beginning to stabilize in FY 2011. Here is a look at what economists are forecasting for the state of Virginia:

Personal income is estimated to grow 3.0% in FY 2011, and 3.7% in FY 2012. Wages and salaries are anticipated to grow 3.0% in FY 2011, and 3.7% in FY 2012.

Employment is estimated to modestly increase by 1.1% in FY 2011 and 2.1% in FY 2012.

Employment in the professional and business services division is predicted to increase by 4.3% in FY 2011.

Construction employment is thought to be mired in recession for an additional year, falling by 5.1% in FY 2011. It is thought that FY 2012 will mark the first year of growth in this sector since FY 2006.

Employment in trade, transportation and utilities declined by 2.5% in FY 2010 (Economic Forecast, 2009).

State government assets can be grouped into several categories: taxes, grants, fees, sales, earnings, transfers, and balances. For the 2008-2010 bienniums, total state resources accessible for appropriation were projected to equal $81.6 billion, including year-end balances, transfers, and bond proceeds. Total revenues from all tax sources were projected to be $35.7 billion. Tax revenues included $19.7 billion from individual income taxes and $4.3 billion from motor vehicle and highway taxes. Other big revenue sources for the biennium included $18.0 billion in federal grants and $10.0 billion in institutional revenue, primarily fees collected at colleges and universities, medical and mental hospitals, and correctional facilities (Frequently Asked Questions, 2010).

Virginia's state government budget is divided into an operating budget and a capital budget. The operating budget comprises expenses to operate the daily actions of government. The capital budget includes the one-time costs of building, improving, or repairing government facilities. The budget of the Commonwealth of Virginia for the 2008-2010 biennium includes $73.0 billion for operating expenses and $1.8 billion in capital outlay. Looking at total operating funds from all sources, the majority of the money goes to education at a rate of 39.4%, 27.7% for health and human resources and transportation at a rate of 12.1%. Bearing in mind only the general fund, money which can be utilized at the discretion of the Governor and General Assembly for a diversity of government actions, the preponderance of the operating money goes to education at 45.9%, health and human resources at 24.2%, and public safety at 11.1%. Considering the non-general funds, funds that are allocated by law for exact purposes; the majority goes to education at 34.5%, health and human resources at 30.3% and transportation at 20.9% (Frequently Asked Questions, 2010).

A year after closing a $4.2 billion budget gap, mostly by chopping services like K-12 education and health care, Virginia lawmakers face a slightly brighter outlook as they organize to gavel in the 2011 session of the General Assembly. Subsequent deep cuts that rolled state spending back to 2006 levels, legislators will spend the session revising the state's budget throughout 2012 with a bit more breathing room, as the economy moves forward and tax revenues recuperate. At this point, there is no shortfall in the budget (Sherfinski, David. (2011).

In 2010, the budget appropriation for health insurance was $165,350,000 (Administration of Health Insurance, 2010). Estimates of uninsurance in Virginia over the past several years have varied from 11% to 16% of the total population; the range is due to dissimilarities in survey methodology, changes in rules and demographics, and fluctuations in the market. Based on U.S. Census Bureau approximations, the national average for uninsured people was 18.8% in 2009. Also in that year, Virginia's rate was 14.7%, ranking it 15th amid all the states. In comparison with its peers, Virginia had a lesser percentage of uninsured people than North Carolina, Tennessee and Maryland. Massachusetts, which in 2006-07 began commanding that every state resident attain healthcare coverage, had the lowest uninsured rate in the nation at 5.2%. The anticipated percentage of uninsured persons under the age of 65 within Virginia was 15.1 in 2007. The Eastern region, Valley region, West Central region, Central region and Northern region exceeded this statewide average. The Southwest region had the lowest rate at 13.8% uninsured (Health Insurance, 2011).

The private sector, which insures about 66% of the population, provides insurance for families of workers and their dependents but does not cover the cost of long-term care. The public sector by way of Medicare at the federal level and Medicaid at the state level, supplies insurance for about 13% of the population, with services targeted to at risk persons including the poor, elderly and disabled. From FY 2007 to FY 2009, enrollment in Virginia's FAMIS/SCHIP program went up from 80,024 children to 94,536 children. Medicaid enrollment increased from 649,903 to 694,276 throughout the same period. The rate of Virginians dependent on Medicaid has gone up from 8 to 11% over the past five years. About 6% of the population covers medical insurance out of their own pockets. The remaining 15% of the population has no insurance (Health Insurance, 2011).

Retired state employees are eligible to participate in the State Retiree Health Benefits Program administrated by the Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM). VRS subtracts the health insurance premiums from retirees monthly retirement benefits payment. If ones benefit is not adequate to cover the insurance deduction, they are billed directly by their health insurance carrier. A person… READ MORE

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