Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has vetoed a major healthcare bill, citing excessive public subsidies. The healthcare bill was passed by a veto-proof margin in the Minnesota Senate but more narrowly in the House, and emerged after months of study and debate with the aim of taking a step toward reform of what many consider a broken and costly system. But Pawlenty said the bill merely expands access to healthcare without cutting costs or improving quality.
A campaign to rebuild San Francisco General Hospital took a critical step with a proposal for an $887.4 million bond measure. The existing hospital treats about 100,000 patients annually, but fails to meet state seismic requirements and must be replaced or closed as an acute-care facility. If voters approve the general obligation bond measure in November construction would begin in summer 2009. The new hospital would open in 2015.
Under Tennessee law, insurers can deny payment of medical claims for trauma victims that come in to the hospital with alcohol or drugs in their system at the time of an accident. Doctors and hospitals argue that this not only costs them money, but also could serve as a disincentive to screening patients for drug and alcohol. Hospitals and doctors say they should be paid when they provide medical care no matter the condition of the accident victim, and Tennessee lawmakers are now reviewing the state's alcohol and drug laws.
The proposed use of unoccupied TV airwaves for high-speed Internet service across the country could affect the signal that monitors critically ill hospital patients. The medical community says that the move could result in possible interference from unlicensed portable gizmos operating in a nearby spectrum. Hospitals and medical device makers say using empty channels for unlicensed uses could disrupt the monitoring of patients' heart rates, blood oxygen levels and other vital signs at medical facilities.
Illinois lawmakers are using an audit's findings to blast Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration for trying to expand state-subsidized healthcare when the current Illinois Medicaid program is racking up deficits and is taking months to pay doctors who care for the poor and elderly. The report found it is taking the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services an average of 77 days to pay doctors and pharmacists who are not associated with large hospitals. Representatives from the state healthcare department blamed the slower payments on Illinois lawmakers, who trimmed $250 million from the governor's healthcare budget in 2007.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has signed legislation that increases spending by $25 million over the next three years to extend healthcare to more than 50,000 Iowa children who currently lack coverage. The plan also sets a goal of ensuring universal coverage for all Iowans within five years, and the measure builds on a plan already on the books that covers children with working poor parents. Iowa officials estimate that about 53,000 children aren't covered.