Medicaid Block Grants Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medicaid Block Grants - Term Paper Example On average, Washington pays 57 percent of the costs. Wealthy states get at least 50 percent of Medicaid costs covered by the feds; poor states get as much as 85 percent (Vestal, n.p.). In return, states must meet minimum standards for benefits and eligibility. For example, states are required to provide Medicaid services to low-income children, pregnant women, some adults with dependent children, people with disabilities and frail elders. Benefits must cover doctor’s visits, hospital stays, emergency room services, diagnostic and outpatient services and long-term care (Vestal, n.p.). Governors have long lobbied for a freer hand on Medicaid, which they say would result in a cheaper, more effective program. Lately, Republican governors have more aggressively pursued the block-grant idea, partly because they’re worried about the cost of adding millions more people to the program beginning in 2014. The federal government will pick up the whole tab for new enrollees for the first three years, tapering down to 90 percent in 2020 and beyond. Governors also are alarmed at Medicaid’s growth rate, which the CBO estimates at 7 percent annually over the next decade. The program, some state officials say, is crowding out other needs, such as education (Carey & Serafini, n.p.). The different types of Medicaid Block Grants are: Block Grants and Welfare Reform.  Federal block grants consolidate various aid programs into a payment to each state based on a formula set by law. This eliminates the ability of federal agencies to allocate grant funds to favored applicants, establish program priorities and set requirements. Block grants give the states increased flexibility to experiment, improve programs and allocate funds to their priorities. Welfare reform is an example of a successful block grant program.  In 1996, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children entitlement program was replaced with the

Brazilian Music and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Brazilian Music and Culture - Essay Example Accessibility of music is thus a complex phenomenon that encompasses these features and others that will be explored by this paper with specific reference to the Brazilian carnival and how it relates to the social conditions of the country. Eisentraut asserts that to understand music, it can be categorized into physical, personal and participatory classes1. Accordingly, this paper will start the scrutiny commencing with a draft description of the Brazilian culture and music for the period of the carnival. Globalization has led to more contact with music and in particular to spread of the allure of the carnival across very many nations, with as much 500,000 guest attending the Rio de Janeiro carnival in the year 2013. Historical Background of the Carnival Brazil usually host some of the most vivacious and exuberant carnival celebrations in the world, though other countries most notably china also host carnival celebrations. The carnival celebrations in Brazil can be traced back to Cat holic countries in Europe, these were parties hosted before the Lent (these were the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness). The celebrations were customarily concluded on Ash Wednesday during which people appreciated the phase of non-indulgence for forty days. The term ‘carnival’ is said to have been derived from the Latin word carne levare, which means ‘to remove meat’, during the Lent eating of meat by Catholics is forbidden. The carnival has since moved from the religious nature of the party to a more of a street party composed of lots of music, dancing and elegant displays of costumes. It has retained the celebrations, as they take place before the Ash Wednesday that is between Saturday and Tuesday. The world’s most famous and arguably, the biggest street carnival is the Rio de Janeiro one, Salvador does also host a comparatively big street carnival. Street celebrations do take an array of styles throughout the country, different towns and ci ties across the country have street carnivals where live bands march along the streets playing sambas and marchas, and they are then followed by very many carnival enthusiasts. Music component in the carnival Music genres played during the festival varies across the country with each region’s style an indication of European, African and Indo-American influence2. The genres reveal significant differences in the styles and music played between the North Eastern region and that of the South Eastern region. The music performed in the North Eastern areas is generally samba, samba-reggae and axe. This music style derives a lot of influence from the African music more specifically from the Yoruba slaves brought from West Africa; they composed and performed their song in a bid to show union amongst themselves and to denounce slavery3. As early as in the late 1800s the black population in this region began commemorating the festival with their own unique style. In the streets of Olind a and Recife, the music played during the carnival is mostly the local favourite genre the frevo, in addition to this genre maracatu, samba, samba reggae, axe amongst others are also played. In the state of Bahia, during the carnival it is common to spot trio electricos- these are long Lorries full of musicians playing loud and deafening music