Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• Idaho Medicaid stabilizes, but changes coming

  January 15, 2013 in Idaho After years of relentless growth, Idaho lawmakers received a budget request for the state’s Medicaid program Tuesday that’s nearly flat in state funds, and just a 7.6 percent increase overall … 1

• Dental clinic offers affordable relief for Medicaid users, uninsured

  January 3, 2013 in Health, Washington Voices on Page S1 The quiet at the Riverstone Family Dental Clinic on a recent Monday morning was like the quiet before a storm. At least that’s what the people behind the IDEA Clinic, … 2

• Aid for autism

  December 4, 2012 in Features, Health on Page C1 Mattie Lewis still has her “autism moments.” She recites TV shows she’s seen, line by line, watching them in her mind’s eye. We’re not watching TV now, her parents remind … 2

• Eye on Boise: Advocacy group calls for expanding Idaho Medicaid

  November 18, 2012 in Idaho on Page B2 BOISE – The Idaho Community Action Network, a statewide nonprofit advocacy group with more than 2,000 members, issued a report last week calling strongly for Idaho to expand its Medicaid …

• State agrees to cover therapy for autistic children on Medicaid

  November 8, 2012 in City, Health on Page A5 After three children, Jennifer Collins thought she had it down. But it became clear early on that her youngest son was struggling. Derek began talking late. He struggled with focus, … 9

• State eyes system to streamline health care

  October 26, 2012 in City, Health on Page A6 OLYMPIA – State officials think they can save $14 million over the next five years and provide better health care to a group of patients who are among the most …

• Inslee, McKenna differ on economic fixes, challenge anti-tax claims

  October 14, 2012 in City on Page A1 To turn the governor’s office Republican for the first time in a generation, Attorney General Rob McKenna seems intent on keeping the race focused on local issues and state politics. … 2

• GOP leaders wary of Idaho getting help on indigent care costs

  September 9, 2012 in City, Idaho on Page A1 Every Tuesday morning at 9, they file in, some crying, some defiant – all with big medical bills they can’t pay, pleading with Kootenai County commissioners for help. “It’s at … 10

• Spin Control: Protest elicits tangle over Medicaid

  August 5, 2012 in City on Page B3 Do Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Gov. Chris Gregoire agree on the best way to fix the nation’s health care system? Not hardly, although that may not be the impression …

• Idaho must scramble to catch up

  June 29, 2012 in Idaho on Page A1 BOISE – Idaho leaders were stunned by Thursday’s ruling upholding the federal health care reform law, and they face big decisions on how to respond. State lawmakers this year refused … 11

• 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

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