NASHVILLE - Would cutting Tennessee's high school dropout rate translate into costs savings for the state taxpayers through the TennCare health program for the poor?
A new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education says it would. The group released a report today saying cutting the state's number of school dropouts in half would save $127 million in annual Medicaid savings.
The report, Well and Well-Off: Decreasing Medicaid and Health-Care Costs by Increasing Educational Attainment, examines Medicaid spending for the nation, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia on four key health problems -alcoholism, heart disease, obesity, and smoking - and examines resulting Medicaid savings.
Support for the report was provided in part by State Farm as part of a series of documents that demonstrates the economic benefits from improving high school graduation rates.