Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• Bates Drug Stores Inc. agrees to pay settlement

  March 28, 2012 in City on Page A7 Bates Drug Stores Inc. has agreed to pay $602,271 to settle allegations that it double-billed Medicare and Medicaid. The U.S. Department of Justice along with Washington state officials announced the …

• Medicare, Medicaid payment boost sought for rural hospitals

  March 14, 2012 in City on Page A6 WASHINGTON – Rural hospitals in Washington and around the country would receive more federal money for Medicare and Medicaid patients through legislation introduced recently by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. The … 1

• Eye on Boise: Panel finishes agency budgets

  March 11, 2012 in Idaho on Page B3 BOISE – Legislative budget writers have now set all state agency budgets for next year, finishing their work by setting the Medicaid budget on Friday. In total, the Joint Finance-Appropriations … 2

• State workers may get 2 percent raise

  February 19, 2012 in Idaho on Page B10 BOISE – After four years without funding raises for state employees, the Idaho Legislature’s joint budget committee voted Friday to give 2 percent raises next year to every permanent state … 2

• Bill aims to lessen fraud and mantra

  February 15, 2012 in City on Page A5 Waste and abuse, waste and abuse. It’s the chorus to a tune that is sung more or less constantly during debates about government spending: We don’t need to pay for … 7

• Eye on Boise: Medicaid cuts’ impact coming clear

  January 22, 2012 in Idaho on Page B3 BOISE – Idaho’s former state chief economist Mike Ferguson estimates that the $35 million in state funds cut from Medicaid this year – which with federal matching funds adds up … 1

• Talk at federal, state levels alarms rural hospitals for future

  December 18, 2011 in City on Page A1 Many of Eastern Washington’s small hospitals are bracing for cutbacks as federal and state governments look to save money. Consider Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Chewelah: On any given day … 22

• Clinic staff, patients rally against cuts to health services

  December 1, 2011 in City on Page A6 Medical clinics for the poor are fighting proposed government funding cuts that they say will undo basic health care services and send thousands more people to emergency rooms. “We’re down …

• Crowd decries social, health services cuts

  October 20, 2011 in City on Page A1 Saying the state government now faces “one of its hardest moments since the Great Depression,” the head of the Washington Department of Social and Health Services brought bad news Wednesday … 27

• Sacred Heart ready to grow

  October 11, 2011 in City on Page A5 Construction crews will start work next week on an $18.6 million emergency department expansion and remodeling project at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. About 80,000 people used the Sacred Heart …

• Medicaid cuts target ER visits

  September 3, 2011 in City on Page A1 Medical services for the poor are eroding in Washington state as budget cuts take hold. The latest round of Medicaid cutbacks will begin Oct. 1, including efforts to curb repeated … 23

• Hospitals sue state over Medicaid cuts

  July 19, 2011 in News The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) has sued the state for cutting Medicaid payments. 2

• Hearings planned on methadone clinic in Spokane Valley

  July 8, 2011 in City on Page A5 A California company is planning to open a private-pay methadone clinic in Spokane Valley as the waiting list to enroll in the county’s only other such drug addiction program lengthens. …

• Dental cuts hit Idaho

  July 7, 2011 in Idaho on Page A5 BOISE – More than 42,000 poor or disabled Idahoans lost their non-emergency dental coverage last Friday due to state budget cuts, and there’s some question about whether the state’s expected … 15

• Medicaid bill would shift control

  May 6, 2011 in City on Page A6 U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., this week introduced a Republican proposal touted as a way to corral Medicaid spending by giving states more say in who qualifies and who … 7

• Congress’ curious budget recipe

  April 10, 2011 in Opinion on Page B8 In case you hadn’t noticed, Congress isn’t like the rest of the world. For instance: 1. Should households facing large bills work on ways to bring in less money? 17

• Cuts in dental care painful for patients

  April 2, 2011 in City on Page A1 Ivory Hendry finally called the dentist. An excruciating toothache made her do it. She hadn’t eaten for a week, struggled to sleep and became ill when taking medicine on an … 22

• Idaho Medicaid budget will grow

  March 19, 2011 in Idaho on Page A6 BOISE – Idaho’s legislative budget-writers cut $108 million in services to the poor and disabled through the state’s Medicaid budget next year, although the program’s overall budget will grow substantially. … 1

• Idaho Medicaid cuts may increase costs, opponents say

  March 9, 2011 in Idaho on Page A14 BOISE – Idaho’s plan to slash $120 million from its Medicaid program – including big cuts in services to the disabled – was roundly panned at a packed public hearing …

• Bill cuts Medicaid by $39 million

  March 3, 2011 in Idaho on Page A6 BOISE – The House Health and Welfare Committee has agreed to consider a bill that would whack $39 million from the state Medicaid budget, set new eligibility rules for clients … 3

• Empire Health helps fund care ombudsman

  January 8, 2011 in City on Page B3 The program charged with protecting the rights of nursing home and assisted living residents will continue in five Eastern Washington counties thanks in part to a grant from the Empire …

• State withdraws Medicaid coverage for oral care

  January 4, 2011 in City on Page A1 Annmarie Dowd had all her teeth pulled a few weeks ago. Her dentist suggested she hurry up and have the procedure because as of Jan. 1 the state stopped providing … 61

• Federal bonus could save kids’ health care from cuts

  December 27, 2010 in City A $17.6 million windfall from the federal government could prevent thousands of children in Washington from losing their health insurance in March if the state decides to spend the money … 6

• Interpreter services for patients face cut

  December 12, 2010 in City on Page B7 SEATTLE – About 70,000 Washington residents who do not speak English fluently may lose access to interpreters during medical visits under a proposed budget cut. The proposed $2 million cut … 2

• Medicaid system fails to pay claims

  December 6, 2010 in City on Page A6 SEATTLE – Washington state’s new computer system for processing Medicaid payments is failing to process hundreds of thousands of claims. Some doctors and clinics have stopped taking new Medicaid patients … 3

• State cuts to health clinics affect thousands

  December 3, 2010 in City on Page A7 Washington state is suspending grants that enable community clinics to provide health care to about 300,000 uninsured patients. Suspension of the program was announced this week by the Washington State … 8

• Wash. state suspending grants to community clinics

  December 2, 2010 in City Washington state is suspending grants that enable community clinics to provide health care to about 300,000 uninsured patients. 17

• Letter details targeted cuts to Medicaid services

  November 25, 2010 in City on Page A1 Thousands of Washington’s poorest residents will receive a letter early next month informing them that they will lose health care services in the coming year as the state cuts Medicaid … 82

• Washington Medicaid recipients to lose services

  November 24, 2010 in City Thousands of Washington’s poorest residents will receive a letter early next month informing them that they will lose health care services in the coming year as the state cuts Medicaid … 6

• Director outlines Idaho’s gloomy Medicaid outlook

  November 17, 2010 in Idaho on Page A6 BOISE – Idaho’s Medicaid program is facing such a big potential shortfall next year that officials are considering using volunteers to help those who now rely on its services. State … 6

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