Roundup: Calif., Conn. plan budget cuts; Md. implements health reform; Boston ambulances 'heavy up'

PBS NewsHour: Brown On California Budget Cuts: 'Better To Take Our Medicine Now'
Following serious cuts initiated by former Gov. Schwarzenegger, [Gov. Jerry] Brown also will be cutting welfare, social services and health care for the poor (Michaels, 1/10).

California Healthline: Brown Details 'Painful' Cuts to Health Care 
The cuts, which total $12.5 billion, include some large reductions in health care services, including:$1.6 billion cut from Medi-Cal; $1.5 billion savings from reducing eligibility period for state health services; $1 billion cut from developmental services; $1 billion cut from In-Home Supportive Services; and $716 million reduction in child care services, including reduction in levels of subsidies (Gorn, 1/10).

Connecticut Mirror: Malloy Has Plenty Of New Ideas, Not Enough Dollars
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's transition team presented more than 1,800 pages worth of policy recommendations Monday ... The health care recommendations ... focused on federal and state-level reform efforts, redesigning the health care system to pay more for primary care and less for specialty care, emphasizing prevention and wellness, and creating health care jobs. Numerous proposals were tied to the state's $4 billion Medicaid program (Phaneuf, Rabe and Becker, 1/10).

The Baltimore Sun: State Releases Plan To Implement Health Care Reform
A panel charged with mapping out reform gave Gov. Martin O'Malley a 16-point plan Monday that recommends creation of a new oversight office and a government body to run the exchange where the uninsured will buy private insurance. That plan from the Health Reform Coordinating Council estimates reform will save the state $829 million over the next decade and cover about half of Maryland's 700,000 uninsured (Cohn, 1/10).

The Boston Globe: Hub Revamps Ambulance For Obese Patients 
In a super-sized world, it was perhaps inevitable: Boston's Emergency Medical Services this month will begin deploying an ambulance equipped with a hydraulic lift to ease transport of the heaviest patients (Smith, 1/11).

Detroit Free Press: Detroit Changes Emergency Response For Ambulances
On Monday, Detroit City Councilman Gary Brown, fed up with what he describes as mismanagement and inexcusable emergency response times, threatened to hold public hearings unless Mayor Dave Bing presents a plan within two weeks to improve public safety (Damron and Neavling, 1/11).