Bills stalled, hospitals fear rising unpaid care, By Reed Abelson, February 8, 2010, New York Times: “President Obama says he aims to keep trying. But what happens if the health care legislation cannot be revived, and tens of millions of uninsured Americans continue without coverage? For the nation’s hospitals, at least, the cost of doing nothing in Washington translates into tens of billions of dollars each year in medical bills that go unpaid by patients with little or no insurance. Nationwide, the cost of unpaid care for hospitals, which includes charity care as well as money that could not be collected from patients, was around $36 billion in 2008. It is expected to spiral higher. The number of people without insurance in this country could increase to as high as 58 million by 2014, from about 49 million now, according to an estimate by the Urban Institute. No wonder hospital systems like Park Nicollet Health Services near Minneapolis worry about their futures if the health care legislation remains stalled…”

Job seekers flock to North Dakota, wind up homeless, By James Macpherson (AP), February 8, 2010, USA Today: “More than almost any other U.S. state, North Dakota has escaped the worst effects of the country’s recession, but with its good fortune has come an unexpected problem: homelessness, as desperate job seekers flow into the largely rural state looking for work. Shelters are full statewide, and soup kitchens are feeding as many as they can. Some homeless newcomers are living in cars, but as temperatures linger below freezing, many are bunking with acquaintances to avoid freezing. Many of the job seekers came to North Dakota without researching jobs or housing, said Louis “Mac” McLeod, executive director of the Minot Area Homeless Coalition. They arrive to find they are unqualified for the work that exists, or if they land a job, they can’t get housing, which is scarce…”

• Cuts would dramatically shrink Nevada safety net, By David McGrath Schwartz, February 9, 2010, Las Vegas Sun: “During Gov. Jim Gibbons’ State of the State speech Monday, he told Nevadans to prepare for a smaller state government. Although the list of what he wants to jettison is not finalized, and some of these cuts need legislative approval, lawmakers privately have signaled that many will go through. The cuts would run from the dramatic - allowing more mentally ill to become homeless - to the mundane - eliminating vacant positions…”
• Hawaii DHS restructuring may cut 200 jobs, close 50 offices, By Mary Vorsino, February 9, 2010, Honolulu Advertiser: “More than 200 state workers who process applications for government assistance programs could lose their jobs, their union said, and at least 50 eligibility offices statewide could close under a cost-cutting proposal that advocates are worried will make it harder for the poor to access key social services. The state Department of Human Services said the planned reorganization is aimed at improving efficiency and lowering costs, but also stressed that the changes are still in the planning stages and no decisions have yet been made…”
• Cuts outlined to shore up social services, By Shira Schoenberg, February 6, 2010, Concord Monitor: “The Department of Health and Human Services laid out dozens of proposed cuts yesterday, in an attempt to fill an anticipated $43 million hole in its budget for this fiscal year. Hospitals will bear a large portion of the cuts, but the impact will be felt everywhere, from child care centers to nursing homes. Most of the shortfall is due to the economy, which has driven more individuals to seek state services…”

• Medicaid, while caring for more, faces big budget challenge, By Deborah Yetter, February 9, 2010, Louisville Courier-Journal: “During his 20 years as an electrician, Eric Sachse never sought any type of public assistance. But then Sachse, a 38-year-old single father in Louisville, lost his job - and health insurance for him and his son, 9. So last month, Sachse signed son John up for the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program, a Medicaid program that covers children of low-income parents. Although Sachse doesn’t qualify for Medicaid himself, he said getting coverage for his son is what counts. ‘I was just really fearful of how I was going to take care of any health care situation,’ he said. As the economy has worsened in the past two years, Kentucky’s Medicaid rolls are rising faster than at any other time in the past decade, adding poor, disabled and low-income people at the rate of 3,400 a month…”
• Hawaii may delay payments to Quest health plan, By Derrick DePledge, February 7, 2010, Honolulu Advertiser: “The state Department of Human Services has warned health insurance companies that the state may not make payments for Quest - the state’s health plan for low-income families - for the last quarter of the fiscal year, leaving insurers to absorb about $300 million in medical expenses until at least July. The potential delay in payments has stunned insurers and alarmed health care providers, who worry a delay could jeopardize the ability of insurers to cover claims, which would cause cash flow problems and influence how some providers care for Quest members…”
• Tennessee hospitals push for tax to offset cuts to TennCare, By Chas Sisk, February 9, 2010, The Tennessean: “The Tennessee Hospital Association’s members will push for a temporary tax on their revenues to reduce cuts to the TennCare program proposed last week by Gov. Phil Bredesen. The association’s board voted Monday to approve a one-year ‘coverage fee’ of 1 percent to 2 percent that would raise money for hospital services scheduled to receive less funding from TennCare. The fee likely would go into effect July 1 and would not be passed along to patients, association officials said. The group also will lobby the state to dip further into reserves and to use any additional revenue that comes into the state to reduce TennCare cuts…”
• Medicaid cuts ‘devastating’ to rural hospitals, By Heather Stanek, February 8, 2010, Fond du Lac Reporter: “Rural hospitals around Fond du Lac say a proposed assessment will help them avoid cutting services or raising prices. Ripon Medical Center and Waupun Memorial Hospital are two of the 59 critical-access hospitals across the state dealing with cuts in Medicaid payments. In an effort to slash costs, the state reduced its Medicaid reimbursements by 10 percent, leaving hospitals to pick up heftier bills for caring for low-income patients. Waupun Memorial, part of Agnesian HealthCare, stands to lose $300,000 annually due to Medicaid cuts, said DeAnn Thurmer, WMH chief operating officer. About 10 percent of the hospital’s patients depend on Medicaid. The Wisconsin Hospital Association and Rural Wisconsin Hospital Cooperative are drafting a legislative bill that would help restore federal dollars to rural hospitals…”

Day cares, parents use kids for profit, By Raquel Rutledge, February 7, 2010, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Thousands of children from low-income families in Wisconsin are being kept out of kindergarten every year, and the state’s subsidized child-care program is a driving factor, turning kids into valuable commodities, an investigation by the Journal Sentinel has found. The $350 million Wisconsin Shares program lets parents keep their 4-, 5- and even some 6-year-olds in day care centers all day - at taxpayer expense - rather than enroll them in accredited kindergarten programs. In some cases, unscrupulous parents are participating in an easy scam. They sign up their children with friends or relatives who provide child care. The state then pays the providers roughly $200 a week, and providers give parents a kickback. In other cases, child-care providers offer free gas, free rent, vacation getaways, $1,000 rebates and other incentives to encourage parents to enroll their children in day care rather than school…”