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Welfare rolls up for 11th straight month

Wednesday, April 17, 2002 | 9:13 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- The number of welfare and Medicaid recipients in Nevada continued to increase in March.

The state Welfare Division reported Tuesday that 34,161 people drew public assistance in March, up 4 percent from February. It was the 11th straight month the number of welfare recipients rose.

State Welfare Administrator Nancy Ford says she doesn't know when the numbers will plateau.

"Nevada's economy and unemployment rates are not recovering as quickly as other states in the nation. It is too early to predict whether caseload growth will begin to level," she said.

The number of Nevadans who drew Medicaid, which provides medical care to the needy, totaled 150,105, up 2.9 percent from February. It was the ninth straight month of increases.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when the economy began to decline sharply, welfare numbers have risen 56 percent, food stamps are up 20 percent and Medicaid recipients have risen 18 percent.

The Legislative Interim Finance Committee this month authorized the welfare division to take $5.5 million from a reserve account to cover the higher number of people on public assistance through the end of this fiscal year.

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