Author: Tom Entrikin | Posted: 27. August 2010 04:59
The California Senate passed two bills on Tuesday, August 24 on the California Health Benefits Exchange to be implemented by January 1, 2014 under the federal health care reform law. S.B. 900 would establish the exchange as an independent public entity and sets forth provisions concerning its governing board, executive director, open meeting rules, and other significant administrative, personnel, and financial requirements. [More]
Author: Patsy Crawford | Posted: 27. August 2010 04:55
On Tuesday, August 24, 2010, U.S. Department of Education (USDE) Secretary Arne Duncan announced 10 winners out of the 19 finalists in the second round of the Race to the Top competition. The winners will share the $3.4 billion remaining in the Race to the Top fund after the first round. According to the August 24th USDE press release, the 10 winning applicants “have adopted rigorous common, college-and career-ready standards in reading and math, created pipelines and incentives to put the most effective teachers in high-need schools, and all have alternative pathways to teacher and principal certification.” [More]
Author: Sam Fish | Posted: 27. August 2010 04:36
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) stated in an economic outlook report, “The Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update,” on August 19 that the new health care reform law has reduced projected deficits over the 2011-2020 period by about $179 billion. CBO issued the update as one of a series of annual reports on the state of the budget and the economy. The $179 billion figure is about $40 billion higher than CBO previously estimated in its March 18 analysis of the legislation. [More]
Author: Kay Casey | Posted: 20. August 2010 06:45
The Multi-Ethic Placement Act of 1994 (MEPA), as amended by the Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996 (MEPA-IEP), applies to any state or other entity that receives funds from the federal government and is involved in some aspect of adoptive or foster care placements. All state and county child welfare agencies involved in placements that receive federal Title IV-E and Title IV-B funds are subject to MEPA-IEP. [More]
Author: Patsy Crawford | Posted: 20. August 2010 03:25
Even with the potential for receiving millions of dollars in new federal aid for the 2010-2011 school year, many states and local education agencies (LEA) across the country fear that more staff lay-offs and other school budget cuts will be necessary when the money runs out. Of the $26 billion state aid bill signed by the President on August 10, 2010, $10 billion was allocated under Public Law No. 111-226 to the new Federal Education Jobs Fund (Ed Jobs) program for the specific purpose of saving or creating education jobs for the 2010-2011 school year. [More]
Author: Tom Entrikin | Posted: 19. August 2010 05:09
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released additional guidelines to state Medicaid agencies on August 17 on the availability of 90 percent Federal financial participation (FFP) on state expenditures for Medicaid administrative activities related to implementing health information technology. [More]
Author: Tom Entrikin | Posted: 19. August 2010 05:06
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published final rules in the Federal Register on August 16 on the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) for acute care hospitals and long term care hospitals. These rules apply to Medicare payments for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2010 for 3,500 acute care hospitals and 420 long term care hospitals. [More]
Author: Tom Entrikin | Posted: 19. August 2010 04:15
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Monday, August 16 that it is awarding $46 million in grants to 45 States and the District of Columbia to upgrade reviews of health insurance premium increases. This is the first installment in $250 million in Health Insurance Premium Review Grants over five years under the federal health care reform law. [More]
Author: Sam Fish | Posted: 17. August 2010 09:31
In the August 11 Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 48816), CMS issued a final rule implementing improvements to the Medicaid Eligibility Quality Control (MEQC) and Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) for Medicaid and CHIP. [More]
Author: Sam Fish | Posted: 17. August 2010 09:20
On August 6, 20 States and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) filed an 81-page brief urging the Florida Federal District Court to allow their constitutional challenge to the healthcare reform law to go forward for trial. [More]
