Hospital Funding Fight Holds Up Florida Budget Negotiations
State lawmakers disagree on how to spread out $650 million in Medicaid payments to hospitals. Elsewhere, rural communities and at-risk populations feel the impact of hospital difficulties in Missouri and Georgia.
Tampa Bay Times:
Why's The Budget In A Stalemate? Hospital Cuts
With a key budget deadline looming late Tuesday, lawmakers’ negotiations were stalled in large part over disagreement on one of the largest issues the state funds: Hospital funding. While the House and Senate came to an agreement last week that would cut $650 million from hospitals’ payments through Medicaid, they still haven’t agreed on how to put those cuts — or a potential $1.5 billion boon in Low Income Pool funds approved by the federal government — into effect. (Auslen, 5/2)
KCUR:
McCaskill: Missouri’s Rural Hospitals May Be At Risk Of Closure If Obamacare Is Repealed
President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress are promising to take another vote this week to repeal the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. But Sen. Claire McCaskill says rural hospitals in the state could be forced to close if the health reform measure is repealed. McCaskill says she met with leaders of several of Missouri’s rural hospitals earlier this year, and many of them say Missouri’s failure to expand Medicaid has had a harmful impact on their financial health. (Margolies, 5/2)
Georgia Health News:
Years After Hospital Closed, Some Former Patients Struggle For Safe Housing
The hospital’s closing came after a 2010 settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that spurred the state of Georgia to move mentally ill and developmentally disabled patients to surrounding communities. ... Transitional apartments, rent vouchers and new construction were part of the plan. But sometimes things happened that were not part of the plan, such as former patients who battle mental illness living on the streets and being arrested repeatedly. (Martin, 5/2)
And in news on how hospital centers are treating memory issues and "toxic stress" in kids —
Orlando Sentinel/Tampa Bay Tribune:
Florida Hospital Seeking State Designation For Memory Clinic
For the past three years, Florida Hospital has been running a clinic for patients who have dementia and Alzheimer’s. But the hospital is waiting to see if amid the chaotic last few days of this legislative session, lawmakers will pass a bill that would designate it as a memory disorder clinic. (Miller, 5/2)
Tampa Bay Times:
At Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, Young Doctors Work To Battle 'Toxic Stress' In Kids
Toxic stress occurs when children are abused or neglected, or exposed to violence, serious turmoil or economic hardship. In young kids, the repeated activation of the nervous system can have a lasting effect on the developing brain. In older children, it can increase the risk for disease. (McGrory, 5/3)
