State roundup: Minn. Medicaid expansion, Mass. health costs, Calif. free clinic

Jan 6 2011

Minnesota Public Radio: Dayton Set To Expand State's Medicaid Enrollment
[Gov.] Dayton is scheduled to sign an executive order that would expand Medicaid coverage in Minnesota -- a move Republicans in the Legislature oppose. Dayton's decision won't put an end to the debate (Scheck, 1/5).

Star Tribune: 95,000 poor Minnesotans Will Get Medicaid On Wed.
With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday will launch the most sweeping changes to Minnesota health care in years, adding 95,000 of the poorest adults to the state's Medicaid rolls (Wolfe, 1/4).

The Boston Globe: Municipalities Turn To Borrowing To Cover Health Care
As cities and towns buckle under the weight of rising health care costs, some are looking to the credit card and Beacon Hill for short-term help. In the most recent example, Governor Deval Patrick is weighing a proposal to permit Orange, a western Massachusetts town of fewer than 8,000 residents, to borrow $445,000 to cover health care claims and pay it back over the next five years (Cheney, 1/5).

Los Angeles Times: Homeless Patients Present Unique Problems For Venice Free Clinic
Delivering preventive care, the doctors believe, not only keeps their patients healthier, it also makes financial sense. People who live on the streets are up to five times more likely to be hospitalized than those with roofs over their heads. Those hospitalizations produce big medical bills that wind up being subsidized by taxpayers and consumers with private insurance (Helfand, 1/5).

The CT Mirror: Malloy Taps Hospital Association Executive To Take The Lead On Health Reform
Gov.-elect Dan Malloy has appointed a Connecticut Hospital Association executive and former head of the Hispanic Health Council to lead state efforts to implement federal health care reform (Levin Becker, 1/4).

McClatchy: Charlotte Hospital Agrees To Pay Millions Over Medicare Allegations
Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital in Charlotte is one of seven U.S. hospitals that have agreed to pay more than $6.3 million to settle allegations they submitted false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced Tuesday (Garloch and Barrett, 1/4).