Today’s NewsStand — Feb. 3, 2020

Today’s NewsStand — Feb. 3, 2020

By Iowa Hospital Association|
|February 3, 2020

Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and the Web.

Iowa News       

Iowa caucus saga reaches final chapter: 10 questions that will be answered on caucus night
For more than a year, the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign has played out like a long, complicated novel with characters developing, conflicts arising and questions building about how the climax will finally play out. Although Iowa’s caucuses are likely to raise as many questions as they answer, there will finally be a sense of resolution as the last chapter of the 2020 caucus cycle comes to a close tonight. (Des Moines Register)

Pence confronted on Trump administration’s Medicaid policies in Iowa
ice President Mike Pence was confronted by an emergency room doctor and health care advocate about the state of Medicare and Medicaid while at a campaign stop in Iowa on Thursday. Dr. Rob Davidson, the executive director of the advocacy group Committee to Protect Medicare, asked Pence about the Trump administration’s new guidance to allow states to ask for a capped amount of federal financing for part of their programs in exchange for more local control. (CNN)

MercyOne Siouxland Child Advocacy Center receives national award from the FBI
MercyOne Siouxland Child Advocacy Center (CAC) has been nominated for a prestigious national award from the FBI Omaha Field Office. They chose the CAC for the 2019 Director’s Community Leadership Award for their efforts to combat violence in the tri-state area. The CAC is a comprehensive program that’s dedicated to serving child victims of abuse since 1989, serving more than 18,000 children. (Siouxland Proud)

National News

Hospital association says expanding Medicaid would keep rural Missouri hospitals open
When Pinnacle Regional Hospital in Boonville closed recently, it became the seventh rural hospital to shut its doors in Missouri since 2010. The National Rural Hospital Association blames the difference on lack of Medicaid expansion. The association reports there are nine factors that can lead to a rural hospital shutting down, and being in a state, like Missouri, that hasn’t expanded Medicaid is number one. The Affordable Care Act included provisions for states to expand eligibility for Medicaid. (St. Louis Public Radio)

Democrats face uphill battle against Trump’s Medicaid overhaul
Democrats are vowing to fight the Trump administration’s new plan to let states turn some of their Medicaid funds into a block grant, but blocking the overhaul will be a challenge. The program — branded as the “Healthy Adult Opportunity” — will allow states to ask permission for a waiver to end their traditional, open-ended Medicaid program and put hard caps on how much money states and the federal government will spend on the poor and disabled. (The Hill)

Verdict’s in on Medicaid funding caps, and it’s a resounding ‘no’ from industry
Hospital and insurance groups largely came out in opposition of new optional funding changes to Medicaid that would partially cap federal assistance. Major provider groups, like the American Hospital Association, the American Health Care Association, the American Medical Association, the Federation of American Hospitals and the Association of American Medical Colleges, warned that the new policy could reduce coverage and access for Medicaid beneficiaries. (Becker’s Hospital Review)

Become a hospital advocate. Sign up for IHA Action Alerts.

Click here