Iowa officials will delay making Gov. Chet Culver's 1.5% budget cut to Medicaid services in hopes of landing federal money to offset the loss, a spokesman for Iowa's human services department said. Culver's across-the-board cut amounts to roughly $10 million for the state's Medicaid programs. But for every state dollar cut, $2 in federal matching money is jeopardized. That amounts to a $30 million service cut, Department of Human Services spokesman Roger Munns said.
President-elect Barack Obama intends to nominate the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids head William Corr as deputy secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, Obama's transition office has announced. "Corr has extensive management and healthcare policy experience both in Congress and at the Department of Health and Human Services," Obama's office said.
A good family health history is important in predicting future medical needs, but it's hugely underused. But now the government will beging offering a free new service to help people compile one at home, e-mail it to relatives who can fill in the gaps, and even pop it straight into their doctors' computers. The goal is to create a family health tree that will help genetics specialists look for patterns of inherited illnesses that can provide a powerful window on someone's brewing health risks.
The three-year legal battle that allowed Christ Hospital to withdraw from the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati is over after the two sides reached a financial settlement. All of the remaining legal claims will be withdrawn as part of the settlement, terms of which were not disclosed. Christ Hospital has been operating independently for more than a year with the two sides haggling in court over the amount of assets the hospital would take with it.
Plans to significantly expand Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater, MN, have been put on the back burner until the economy improves. Officials from Lakeview Hospital were expected to seek approval from the Stillwater City Council early this year for their 20-year expansion plan. Now the four-phase project has been postponed because of the economy. The delay could last six months or maybe even a year, said hospital officials.
The Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut is set to unveil its proposal calling for major changes in the state's health system and a plan that the group says could insure 98% of state residents by 2014. It is the first of many state and federal proposals expected to be aired in what many people say is the year for health reform. Connecticut legislators are expected to address the issue in the current session.