For the second time, an Illinois legislative panel has rejected Gov. Rod Blagojevich's request to allow 147,000 parents and caretakers to buy discounted health insurance through the state's FamilyCare program. Officials with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services said they have enrolled an additional 3,300 people in the program since defying the panel's first rejection.
Speaking on Capitol Hill, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick told Congress that the Bush administration has made it virtually impossible to expand health insurance coverage to more moderate-income children, and has asked lawmakers to intervene. Patrick accused the administration of essentially reneging on its commitment to let the state cover families with incomes up to $52,800 for a family of three. Under the guidelines, the income limit is $44,000.
Shares of hospital operator Tenet Healthcare Corp. rose sharply after the company said its fourth-quarter loss was much smaller than a year prior and posted its first increase in patient admissions in nearly four years. Tenet also said it is collecting more money per admitted patient. The company has been plagued by falling admissions for several years as many doctors sent their patients to other providers. To reverse the trend, Tenet has raised spending on equipment and aggressively courted doctors, boosting the number of physicians on its hospital admitting staffs 2 percent in the fourth quarter.
Brokerage firms and a group of hospitals are urging federal securities regulators to allow those who issued debt to buy it in hopes of preventing failed auctions. A group of 14 hospitals and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association have sent letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission urging the agency to permit such a move with assurance that it wouldn't constitute market manipulation.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano joined other state governors in lobbying for U.S. Congress to place a moratorium on implementing proposed Medicaid regulations that will increase costs for states. The new regulations, issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, would ban the use of federal Medicaid money to pay for doctor training, eliminate some funds for disability programs, and limit Medicaid payments to hospitals and nursing homes run by state governments.
During a debate at Cleveland State University, Democratic Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton clashed sharply over healthcare. Each accused the other of misrepresenting their approaches to offering coverage for 47 million uninsured Americans.