Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Iowa estimated to recover millions now spent on care for uninsured
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released new state-by-state projections of the impacts of passage or failure of the Democrats’ sweeping health care reform package.
According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the projections demonstrate that “the health care status quo is not an option for our states.”
On a conference call this morning with reporters, Sebelius acknowledged that the Republican Governors’ Association has been critical of both congressional bills for what they deem to be “unfunded mandates.”
“I did have a conversation with a lot of my former colleagues about the issues on Medicaid expansion, and I would tell you that, by-and-large, governors are pleased with the recognition in Congress — in both the House and Senate bills — that adding additional unfunded mandates is problematic,” she said, noting that both bills added additional monies so that states could meet the new reforms.
“I think what is important, in addition to looking at the expansion of various programs and how much money is coming back to the states … is that the cost of doing nothing is a huge burden on states. It’s not only a burden that they pick up in terms of insured costs, and a sicker workforce and less preventative care, but it is a burden they pay for directly in state employee premiums.”
Researchers estimate that uncompensated care costs Iowa providers $935 million each year, a figure that is partially subsidized by the state. State premiums, according to the report, would be reduced as coverage is expanded and uninsured and uncompensated costs decrease.
The Department asserts that if nothing is done, by 2019 the number of uninsured people will grow by more than 30 percent in 29 states and by at least 10 percent in every state. In addition, the amount of uncompensated care will more than double in 45 states, and businesses in 27 states will see their premiums more than double and fewer people will have coverage through employers.
The reports, which are based on the U.S. Senate version of health care reform, project that if the bill is signed into law, Iowans could see:
Additional report information, including breakdowns of estimated benefits for Iowa families, senior citizens, small businesses and other entities can be read on the government’s health reform Web site.
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