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

Iowa News

Iowa lawmakers want to know why insurers raise rates
State lawmakers want to press Iowa health insurers to release more details to help lawmakers decide whether rate increases are justified. This week, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the state’s largest health insurer, said it would raise rates an average of 18 percent for about 80,000 Iowans who buy their own health insurance. (Des Moines Register)

Loebsack: Health reform moving ahead
Forget what the polls and pundits are saying against health reform and Congress as a whole. Rep. Dave Loebsack, a Democrat, said from what he hears around the 2nd District, people still want Congress to move forward on health reform and act in a bipartisan way. (Burlington Hawk Eye)

Hospital creates impact on local economy
Keokuk County Health Center generates 89 jobs that add $2,750,000 directly to local economy, according to the latest study by the Iowa Hospital Association. The benefit doesn’t stop here however. Each dollar put into the local economy has a multiplier effect as it makes its way into area businesses to pay salaries, supplies and other costs. The net effect of this is another $1,400,000 into the local economy. (Sigourney News-Review)

MHP improves patient care with new technology
Mahaska Health Partnership is improving security and accessibility of patient information with electronic medical records and single sign-on technology. (Oskaloosa Herald)

Flood risk rising for Cedar River; Corps dropping Coralville Lake level early
The risk of the Cedar River flooding in Cedar Rapids this spring has increased dramatically in the past three weeks, according to a flood forecast released today by the National Weather Service. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

U.S. News

As demand for care swells, many states cutting Medicaid
Facing relentless fiscal pressure and exploding demand for government health care, virtually every state is making or considering substantial cuts in Medicaid, even as Democrats push to add 15 million people to the rolls. (Boston Globe)

Millions of seniors face 14 percent premium increase for popular Medicare Advantage plans
A study to be released Friday by a major consulting firm found that premiums for Medicare Advantage plans offering medical and prescription drug coverage jumped 14.2 percent on average in 2010, after an increase of only 5.2 percent the previous year. Some 8.5 million elderly and disabled Americans are in the plans, which provide more comprehensive coverage than traditional Medicare. (Associated Press)

Obama to offer health bill to ease impasse as bipartisan meeting approaches
President Obama will put forward comprehensive health care legislation intended to bridge differences between Senate and House Democrats ahead of a summit meeting with Republicans next week, senior administration officials and Congressional aides said Thursday. (New York Times)

Votes, then a veto, for health care
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty turns down an extension of medical coverage for the poor, even after it passed the Legislature with overwhelming support. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Gawande disputes criticism of Dartmouth data
Brigham and Women’s surgeon Dr. Atul Gawande garnered wide attention last year for his New Yorker article exploring why McAllen, Texas, has one of the highest medical costs in the nation despite health needs similar to lower-cost cities. Now he is disputing a New York Times article that calls into question the Dartmouth data on which it was based. (Boston Globe)

Missing HSA money raises oversight questions
Thousands of people are learning that money they squirreled away in health savings accounts is gone. Many thought the money was sitting safely in banks. But now it appears it was stolen. Federal investigators have released few details, but all the cases have one thing in common: a Chicago company called Canopy Financial. (National Public Radio)

The Smart Set
Much of the buzz about digital future of health care has centered on electronic health records: both Google and Microsoft have developed platforms for medical providers. But one of the biggest advancements in health care might come on a very small card. Could medical information stored on wallet-size cards cure the country’s health-care woes? (Newsweek)