Katie Flanigan
Report: California’s labor performance ranks 48th
California’s labor performance over the past five years is among the worst in the country, according to research by a San Francisco think tank. The Pacific Research Institute said California ranked better than only Michigan and Mississippi in the think tank’s new study called “California Prosperity: Assessing the State of …
North Dakota Rejects State Health Expansion
Health Care News (Heartland Institute), July 1, 2009 The North Dakota legislature has rejected a measure to expand eligibility for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. The bill would have extended SCHIP eligibility to families making 200 percent of the federal poverty level and would have allowed more than 1,100 …
Health 2.0 Empowers Patients, Challenges Status Quo
Health Care News (Heartland Institute), March 1, 2009 Spearheading a new trend in health care, patients around the world are uniting via social networks to discuss and obtain help in combating chronic illnesses. Whereas social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace have traditionally been utilized as a networking tool …
Florida Legislature Rejects Proposed Cigarette Tax Increase
Health Care News (Heartland Institute), March 1, 2009 Health Care News (Heartland Institute), March 1, 2009 The Florida House of Representatives has rejected a proposal to increase the state tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack in an effort to sustain the state’s Medicaid program and finance other proposed health …
Grassley Seeks Probe of Unapproved Drugs
A longtime member of Congress is asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate nearly $200 million the government has spent on unauthorized drugs for Medicaid enrollees since 2004. The drug purchases were discovered during an investigation conducted by the Associated Press. Policy analysts say the lack …
Rhode Island Seeks Caps on Medicaid, Will Shift Costs to Emergency Room Patients
In response to an ongoing state budget crisis, Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri (R) has requested the federal government relax its strict Medicaid regulations in exchange for caps on state spending and federal contributions to the program. The state’s plan is to cap Medicaid spending at 23 percent of the …
San Francisco Employer Mandate Can Go Forward, Circuit Court Rules
San Francisco’s “pay-or-play” health care mandate will be allowed to continue operating following a ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decreeing the program does not violate federal law governing employee benefit plans. The controversial program, known as Healthy San Francisco, requires every business in San Francisco County …
California Governor Plans to Wield Veto Pen
Health Care News (Heartland Institute), November 1, 2008 California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is expected to veto several bills passed by the state legislature, even though the measures are similar to a sweeping health care plan he proposed but failed to get through the General Assembly earlier this year (“California …
Tennessee, AT&T Partner to Develop E-Health Info System
The state of Tennessee is partnering with AT&T to develop the first statewide electronic health information system in the United States. The system will enable Tennessee-based medical professionals to share patient records and information through a secure network extending across the entire state. The system will also link to the …
