Congressional Democrats overwhelmingly embraced President Obama's ambitious and expensive agenda for the nation by endorsing a $3.5 trillion spending plan that sets the stage for the president to pursue his most far-reaching priorities. The House and Senate approved budget blueprints that would trim Obama's spending proposals for the fiscal year that begins in October and curtail his plans to cut taxes. The blueprints, however, would permit work to begin on the central goals of Obama's presidency, including an expansion of healthcare coverage for the uninsured.
The era of free or nearly free medical care at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital is over for people who live outside Fulton and DeKalb counties, hospital officials said. People from Gwinnett, Cobb and other counties seeking non-emergency care began paying fees on a sliding scale based on income, effective April 1. About one in four indigent patients—about 37,000 patients a year—come from outside Fulton and DeKalb, officials said.
Struggling Tarpon Springs, FL-based Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital is seeking a partner to fund expansion of its cardiac care services. Helen Ellis chief executive Don Evans cautioned that going private is not an objective, but can't be ruled out as the hospital looks for a cash infusion. Squeezed by unpaid hospital bills, patients unable to pay for all but critical procedures, and the rising cost of charity care, the hospital could use a partner with cash to invest to help ensure its viability, Evans said.
General Electric and Intel are joining forces to try to cash in on the trend of delivering more healthcare outside hospitals and doctors' offices. The companies plan to spend $250 million jointly in the next five years on research and development of health technologies to let doctors remotely monitor, diagnose, and consult with patients in their homes or assisted-living residences. Both companies have fledgling offerings in the field of telehealth and home health monitoring.
Ohio's Catholic bishops are warning that the proposed two-year state budget threatens the safety net provided by Catholic hospitals. Daniel Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati, outlined the bishops' concerns in a recent letter to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. Among their main concerns is a plan to raise the franchise fee hospitals pay to the state. The higher fees would allow the state to attract a larger share of federal Medicaid money but return just a fraction of it to health systems and use the remainder to balance the state budget, Pilarczyk said.
Poor Mississippi residents who rely on state and federal health insurance must show up in person at a Medicaid office every year to renew health coverage for themselves and their children. Advocates say the four-year-old policy means children are being denied insurance because their parents don't have transportation or can't take time off from work.