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Delaware and Tennessee to provide free diapers through Medicaid
Low-income parents and caregivers in Delaware and Tennessee are getting a lifeline to help curtail one of the most common medical conditions for babies: diaper rash. Both states have received federal approval to provide free diapers through their Medicaid programs, according to federal and state officials.
Under TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, parents and legal guardians can pick up as many as 100 diapers a month for kids under age 2 at participating pharmacies beginning in August, Tennessee officials said.
“For infants and toddlers, a key benefit to adequate diaper supply is preventing diaper dermatitis, otherwise known as diaper rash, and urinary tract infections,” the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services stated last week in an approval letter to Tennessee.
The federal agency also approved a similar Medicaid program in Delaware that will provide up to 80 diapers and a pack of baby wipes a week to parents for the first 12 weeks after a child is born. CMS said the state can use Medicaid funding to extend the program for an additional five years.
“Access to sufficient diapers offers health benefits to the parent, as well, as diaper need is associated with maternal depression and stress,” a spokesperson for the Delaware Health and Social Services told the Associated Press in an email.
The cost of diapers
An infant needs as many as a dozen diapers a day, at a cost of $80 to $100 or more a month, according to the National Diaper Bank Network, an advocacy group. The cost of diapers can equate to 8% of someone’s income if they are earning the federal minimum wage, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has noted.
Meanwhile, parents who do not have enough diapers are unable drop their kids off at childcare, hindering their ability to work.
The Tennessee request to the federal agency came from an initiative supported by Gov. Bill Lee in 2023 that had lawmakers approving $30 million in TennCare funding for the free diapers.
“We are the first state in the nation to cover the cost of diapers for mothers in the first two years of a child’s life, and we hope this is a model for others,” Lee, a Republican, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Tennessee has built a track record over the years for its willingness to reject federal funding for those struggling or who live in poverty. The state in January announced it would rebuff nearly $9 million in federal funding to prevent and treat HIV, with Lee saying Tennessee did not want to contend with the strings attached to accepting federal funds.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.