The Florida Senate has passed a measure that would streamline the Florida KidCare program, but the bill may never get heard in the House. Republicans there say they are worried the changes will cost too much at a time when the state is struggling to balance the state budget. Supporters, however, dispute that the bill will cost the state anything extra. They say there's enough money in the existing program to take care of the estimated $15 million cost. Florida KidCare is an umbrella program that includes the Healthy Kids program, which provides subsidized health insurance to families to those who make up to 200% of the federal poverty line. There are nearly 176,000 children enrolled in the Healthy Kids program, which also gets matching federal money.
As swine flu has spread to most San Francisco-area counties over the past few days, worried residents have been descending on hospitals and clinics at the first sign of ill health, to the chagrin of the region's public health officials. A perception that there has been a sudden explosion of swine flu cases may be prompting people to seek medical care, said San Mateo County Health Officer Scott Morrow, MD.
Health insurer CIGNA Corp. lowered its profit and membership forecasts for the year after its first-quarter earnings fell short of expectations and said it would take further actions to cut expenses. CIGNA, which announced in January that it would cut 1,100 jobs companywide, plans additional expense reductions "to improve our competitive position in the marketplace," said David Cordani, president and chief operating officer. The size of the new cuts won't be disclosed until second-quarter earnings are announced, but Cordani said they will include "employment-related cost reductions," consolidation of vendors and other actions.
At the heart of the healthcare debate that will soon occupy Washington is a huge conundrum, says Peter Baker in this blog posting for the New York Times. It's one thing to say that it makes no sense for a country to spend so much on procedures that ultimately will do little to extend or improve the lives of those nearing death, Baker says, but as a personal matter, it's another to deny your own grandmother an operation that may at least make her last days more comfortable.
New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is expected to abandon his plan to ask public employees to pay more for their healthcare coverage when he unveils his latest budget proposal. The mayor had hoped to convince labor leaders that union members should pay 10% of their healthcare premiums, as part of an overall attempt to save $1 billion in pension and healthcare costs. Many employees now pay nothing, so a 10% contribution could save the city $350 million. But negotiations between the city and the unions have proved difficult.
More than two dozen states have not stocked enough of the emergency supplies of antiviral medications considered necessary to treat victims of swine flu should the outbreak become a full-blown crisis, according to federal records. The medications are part of a national effort to be prepared for a pandemic: If a health crisis wiped out drug supplies in pharmacies and hospitals, or if families were unable to get to their doctors, local and state officials could quickly distribute stockpiled medications.