In Washington…
Bush Budget proposed...
Unless Congress acts this year, teaching hospitals will experience a large reduction in their indirect medical education payments, there will be a 15 percent cut in payments to home health agencies, and reductions in Medicaid DSH payments will take effect. The Bush budget does propose to spend $3.7 billion on a 6.5 percent increase in payments under Medicare+Choice, considerably more than the 2 percent increases that have been the norm in urban areas for the past few years. The Bush plan includes a modest prescription drug proposal for seniors.
The proposed budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) includes about $6 billion in funding for chemical- and bio-terrorism preparedness including $518 million for hospital preparedness and $100 million to train health care professionals, poison control centers, and emergency medical services for children. Under the proposal, hospitals would have to coordinate with state preparedness plans.
Worth Noting...
- Johnson & Johnson recently launched a $20 million national campaign to attract more people to nursing in hospitals and nursing homes. Details on the effort, which includes scholarships, TV ads, and written materials, are available at www.discovernursing.com
- The first of the bio-terrorism funds appropriated last year by the Congress are making their way to Massachusetts with $21.6 million in staged allocations. A portion of the money is devoted to enhancing hospital readiness, improving communication, and upgrading disease reporting.
And on Beacon Hill…
The Joint Health Care Committee held a hearing in February to look into hospital financial distress and pending hospital closures, especially the issue of CareGroup’s decision to close or sell Deaconess-Waltham Hospital. Witnesses included a panel of representatives from the Swift Administration, CareGroup, Partners, the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Massachusetts Nursing Association, the MHA, BU Professor Alan Sager, and the Save Waltham Hospital Coalition. Newton-Wellesley’s Les Selbovitz, MD, represented Partners.
Worth Noting...
Governor Jane Swift froze $90 million in previously approved state spending, including $66 million from smoking cessation programs, $10 of the $15 million in distressed hospital funds and $2.8 million for a cervical and breast cancer program.