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

Iowa News

Medicare cuts could limit care, doctors say
Local health-care providers warn a proposed 21 percent reduction in their Medicare reimbursements could reduce care for the tri-state area’s older adults. (Dubuque Telegraph Herald)

Paradigm shift: Broadlawns builds for the future
“Our long-term goal, and we’ve talked about this at the board level, is really to be the best small public hospital in America, and I think we’re well on our way to doing that,” said Jody Jenner, CEO at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines. (Des Moines Business Record)

Future is bright for Trinity Muscatine
Trinity Muscatine still offers convenient access to local health care with knowledgeable, yet familiar, physicians, nurses and staff. People can expect hometown care, but we are also able to tap into more specialized services that the Trinity system has a stellar reputation for providing. (Muscatine Journal)

VA’s decision on clinic site coming soon
In just a few weeks, Winneshiek Medical Center should know if the Veterans Administration plans to locate a community based outpatient clinic (CBOC) on its campus. According to WMC Chief Medical Officer Dan Werner, the VA has extended its application process by one day, for entities interested in submitted a proposal for a CBOC site. (Decorah Public Opinion)

Coalition seeks to address Iowa’s nurse shortage
As Iowa’s Baby Boomers get older, will there be enough nurses to provide care for them? If present trends continue, the nursing work force will fall far short of the increasing demand from the state’s aging population, say health-care experts. (Des Moines Business Record)

Employers expect to hire more
According to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, 14 percent of companies in the Cedar Rapids metropolitan area, which includes Iowa City and Johnson County, said they expect to hire more people from April to June. That is more than the 11 percent of area employers who said they planned to add more people from January through March. (Iowa City Press-Citizen)

U.S. News

Obama makes health care pitch
“We can’t have a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the American people,” Mr. Obama said. “We need to give families and businesses more control over their own health insurance.” House Minority Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio) characterized Mr. Obama’s speech as a rerun of past rhetoric. (Wall Street Journal)

Lights, camera, reconcile!
The yearlong debate over health care reform — a titanic contest involving big ideas, passionate convictions and lofty principles — is headed toward a highly unlikely endgame: a clash between parliamentary procedure attorneys. (Politico)

Anyone remember what’s in the health care bill?
Since the Senate passed its version of a health overhaul on Christmas Eve, most of the debate has focused on the politics of the effort. By now, many people have forgotten — if they ever knew — what the bill would actually do. So here’s a short refresher. (National Public Radio)

Lawsuit caps proposal could be headed to Illinois voters
In response to the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision last month overturning the state’s cap on medical malpractice awards, state Sen. Dave Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, has introduced a constitutional amendment that would prevent the state’s high court from overturning future medical malpractice reform laws. (Legal Newsline)

N.C. hospital infection data kept from public
Don Dalton, an N.C. Hospital Association spokesman, said public reporting is not mandated in North Carolina because the state isn’t ready. “The state recognizes that to put out inaccurate and insufficient data would be potentially as much harm to the public as much as a benefit to the public,” he said. But Dalton, as well as legislators and other health care officials, said he thinks N.C. hospitals will be required to report infection rates to the state government soon, possibly within the next two years. (Charlotte Observer)

Senate panel to investigate deaths at long-term care facilities
The Senate Finance Committee has opened an investigation into patient deaths and allegations of substandard treatment at long-term care hospitals, small specialty medical centers that treat chronically ill patients. (New York Times)