Statewatch: D.C poised to approve Johns Hopkins-Sibley deal; Controversial Medicaid cuts in Idaho, Indiana

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Oct 29 2010

The Washington Post: "The agreement for Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Health System to acquire Sibley Memorial Hospital is likely to be approved by District officials as soon as Thursday, giving the world-class academic medical center its first foothold in the District. Driven by Sibley's need to ensure long-term financial stability by increasing its volume of patients, the move will allow Hopkins to improve its market position in the Washington-Baltimore region. The integration is also part of a broader trend toward hospital consolidation, which promises to grow, experts say, because the health-care overhaul passed in March puts such emphasis on broad systems in which hospitals and doctors better coordinate care." No money is changing hands in the deal (Sun, 10/27).

The Associated Press/KHQ: Idaho "is poised to make $8 million worth of cuts to Medicaid programs and services that cater to low-income adults with severe mental illness or children with disabilities like Autism." The state cuts of $1.6 million, "however, would also trigger the loss of another $6.5 million in Medicaid matching money used to pay for those services" (10/27).

The Associated Press: "Indiana's budget crunch has become so severe that some state workers have suggested leaving severely disabled people at homeless shelters if they can't be cared for at home, parents and advocates said. They said workers at Indiana's Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services have told parents that's one option they have when families can no longer care for children at home and haven't received Medicaid waivers that pay for services that support disabled people living independently" (10/27).

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.