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MNA NewsScan, May 15, 2013: RN supply/demand gap to be 1.2M by 2020

15 May

NOTES ON NURSING

Federal Report Shows Wide Disparity in Nursing Supply   The U.S. Nursing Workforce Report issued by the Health Resources and  Services Administration National Center for Health Workforce Analysis predicts continuing shortages as more than 500,000 RNs are expected to retire within the next seven years.

HEALTH CARE

One-Third of Patients Willing to Change Doctors to Save Money Respondents also were asked how much money they would need to save annually to make that switch. Thirty-four percent thought keeping down out-of-pocket insurance costs was more important than retaining their doctors.

Angelina Jolie:  My Medical Choice   It has got to be a priority to ensure that more women can access gene testing and lifesaving preventive treatment, whatever their means and background, wherever they live. The cost of testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, at more than $3,000 in the United States, remains an obstacle for many women.  Related:  Jolie’s Procedure Shows Harsh Choices Women Face   The $3,000 cost of the screening test may be an “obstacle for many women” without health insurance,

California Hospital Charges are 4.5 Times Their Cost    The hospital industry typically seeks to dismiss reports on the massive disparity between its costs and charges insisting that few actually pay the “list” price, and insists the charges are “random” when in fact there are distinct patterns in the pricing practices.   Related:  Miami Hospitals Plan to Release More Cost Data    Once a closely-held competitive secret, hospital prices are beginning to shake loose from the grips of healthcare executives in the wake of last week’s unprecedented move by the federal government to publicly share what hospitals bill Medicare for the most common diagnoses and treatments.

LABOR UPDATES

Record Debate Yields Victory for Care Workers’ Unionization   An all-night, 17-hour debate prompted by furious GOP opposition ended with a victory for unions seeking to organize care-workers on Wednesday.

MNA NewsScan, May 13, 2013: Fund set for RNs, colleagues lost in limo fire; ND highest in worker death

13 May

NOTES ON NURSING

Angels Fund Set Up for RNs and Co-Workers Lost in Limo Fire   This year’s Nurses Week was sadly darkened by the death of two RNs and three other caregivers in a tragic limousine fire on the San Mateo Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area.

UMass Nurses Will Strike Over Poor Patient Care Conditions    After posting more than $88 million in profits, UMass Memorial Medical Center has slashed its nursing and support staff in the last two years.

LABOR UPDATES

Dairy Queen Offers Grads Their First Job – Without Pay    Edina-based Dairy Queen is giving new college grads the chance to shill for its Orange Julius brand.

North Dakota Leads Nation in Rate of Worker Deaths   North Dakota had a workplace fatality rate that was more than three times greater than the national average and more than five times greater than Minnesota’s rate.

HEALTH CARE

Health Care Plan Needed for End of Life   Never in human existence has dying been more complicated. Before the onset of modern medicine, most people died quickly from an acute event such as trauma or the effects of infection. Today most deaths are a slow process of decline.

The Skyhigh Price of Chemotherapy:  Why Do Cancer Drugs Cost So Much?  Overall, cancer drug prices are skyrocketing. Of the 12 drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for various cancer conditions in 2012, 11 were priced above $100,000 for a year of treatment.

Study:  Nearly One-Third of All Death Certificates Are Wrong   As to why doctors were reporting inaccurate causes of death, it actually appears to be a weirdly bureaucratic reason: Three-quarters said the system they use in New York City would not accept what they thought to be the real cause of death.

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MNA NewsScan, May 8, 2013: Kaiser battle=sign of vibrant HC unions

8 May

Nurses-Week

NOTES ON NURSING

HHS Secretary Sebelius Hails Nurses   National Nurses Week gives us a chance to recognize the contribution of the health care providers at the heart of our health care system.  Every day, nurses provide leadership, innovation and advocacy to meet the health care needs of Americans.

Advanced Nurses Lower Costs, Improve Care   Studies find that Advanced Practice Registered Nurses who provide preventive  care are as effective as primary-care physicians in accuracy of diagnosis and  prescription.

LABOR UPDATES

The Labor Market Won’t Be Healthy Until People Feel Like they Can Quit Their Jobs  The unemployment rate may be falling and the number of jobs rising. But there isn’t enough “churn” going on, a hallmark of a healthy job market, in which people freely move between positions.

Daily Job Death Toll:  150 Workers    The report finds that along with the 4,693 workers killed on the job in 2011 (about 13 a day)—the last figures available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)—an estimated 50,000 workers a year (about 137 a day) die from occupational diseases. In addition, some 3.8 workers are reported to suffer job-related injuries or illnesses each year.

Battle at Kaiser Permanente is Sign of Vibrant Health Care Unions   “The old image is of a union worker being a steel worker or an auto worker but the typical person today is a teacher, nurse, firefighter or airline pilot. Nurses are one of the most unionized groups in society,” said Alex Colvin, who chairs the labor relations department at Cornell University. “This isn’t an area where unions are dying.”

HEALTH CARE

Slowdown in Rise of Health Care Costs May Persist    David M. Cutler estimates that, given the dynamics of the slowdown, economists might be overestimating public health spending over the next decade by as much as $770 billion.  Related:  Structural Changes May Be Foundation for Containment 

Same Procedure, $30K Difference in Hospital Billing   For the first time, the federal government has released the prices that hospitals charge for the 100 most common inpatient procedures. Until now, these charges have been closely held by facilities that see a competitive advantage in shielding their fees from competitors. What the numbers reveal is a health-care system with tremendous, seemingly random variation in the costs of services.

MNA NewsScan, May 1, 2013: May Day!

1 May

LABOR UPDATES

CEO Pay Gap Up 1000% Since 1950    Today Fortune 500 CEOs make 204 times regular workers on average, Bloomberg found. The ratio is up from 120-to-1 in 2000, 42-to-1 in 1980 and 20-to-1 in 1950.

Worldwide May Day Rallies Thousands of low-paid workers are rallying in the streets on May Day to demand better pay and improved working conditions a week after a Bangladesh building collapse that was a grim reminder of how lax safety regulations make work a danger in poor countries.

Health Care Dominates Highest Paying Jobs (no surprise:  nurses excluded) in America   Anesthesiologists top the list with average annual pay of $232,830 as of 2012, the latest year for which official figures are available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

House Panel OKs Minimum Wage Hike    “Where the hell are the workers in this particular argument?” Mahoney, DFL-St. Paul, asked before the measure passed. “There used to be a compact: eight hours of work, eight hours of rest and eight hours of family. … It is time America, and Minnesota, and this world, get back to that particular attitude.”

Solidarity Forever!  Listen to the worker’s anthem by Pete Seeger

Today in Labor History  – May 01

  • Mary Harris “Mother” Jones born in County Cork, Ireland – 1830 (Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America: Her rallying cry was famous: “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.” A century ago, Mother Jones was a celebrated organizer and agitator, the very soul of the modern American labor movement. At coal strikes, steel strikes, railroad, textile, and brewery strikes, Mother Jones was always there, stirring the workers to action and enraging the powerful. In this first biography of “the most dangerous woman in America,” Elliott J. Gorn proves why, in the words of Eugene V. Debs, Mother Jones “has won her way into the hearts of the nation’s toilers, and… will be lovingly remembered by their children and their children’s children forever.”)
  • Cigar makers in Cincinnati warn there could be a strike in the fall if factory owners continue to insist that they pay 30¢ per month for gas heat provided at work during mornings and evenings – 1883
  • Eight-hour day demonstration in Chicago and other cities begins tradition of May Day as international labor holiday – 1886
  • The Cooks’ and Waiters’ Union strikes in San Francisco, demanding one day of rest per week, a 10-hour work day and a union shop for all restaurants in the city – 1901
  • Mother Jones’ 100th birthday celebrated at the Burgess Farm in Adelphi, Md. She died six months later – 1930
  • New York City’s Empire State Building officially opens. Construction involved 3,400 workers, mostly immigrants from Europe, and hundreds of Mohawk iron workers. Five workers died during construction – 1931
  • Congress enacts amendments to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, extending protections to the employees of state and local governments—protections which didn’t take effect until 1985 because of court challenges and regulation-writing problems – 1974
  • The federal minimum wage rises to $2 per hour – 1974
  • Int’l Molders & Allied Workers Union merges with Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics & Allied Workers Int’l Union – 1988
  • Woodworkers of America Int’l merges with Int’l Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers – 1994
  • Int’l Leather Goods, Plastics & Novelty Workers Union merges with Service Employees Int’l Union – 1996
  • Rallies in cities across the U.S. for what organizers call “A Day Without Immigrants.” An estimated 100,000 immigrants and sympathizers gathered in San Jose, Calif., 200,000 in New York, 400,000 each in Chicago and Los Angeles. In all, there were demonstrations in at least 50 cities – 2006 (Immigrants, Unions, and the New U.S. Labor Market: In recent years, New Yorkers have been surprised to see workers they had taken for granted—Mexicans in greengroceries, West African supermarket deliverymen and South Asian limousine drivers—striking, picketing, and seeking support for better working conditions. Suddenly, businesses in New York and across the nation had changed and were now dependent upon low-paid immigrants to fill entry-level jobs.)

HEALTH CARE

Park Nicollet, HealthPartners to Build Clinic in Plymouth   The site of a former driving range in western Plymouth soon will be home to a 60,000-square-foot medical and dental clinic jointly run by Park Nicollet and HealthPartners.

MNA NewsScan, April 29, 2013: Successful program=funding cuts

29 Apr

NOTES ON NURSING

Successful Nurse-Intensive Chronic Disease Management Experiment in Jeopardy    But Health Quality Partners, with its emphasis on continuous nurse-to-patient contact, did work. Of the 15 programs, four improved patient outcomes without increasing costs. Only HQP improved patient outcomes while cutting costs.

HEALTH CARE

Austerity is Hurting Our Health    Austerity is having a devastating effect on health in Europe and North America, driving suicide, depression and infectious diseases and reducing access to medicines and care, researchers said on Monday.

Uninsured Population Swells    About 84 million were uninsured or underinsured, 3 million more than when the 2010 health law was signed and 20 million more than in 2003. About 80 million adults who had medical conditions said they chose not to see a doctor or fill a prescription because of the cost.

Bloomberg News OpEd:  What Tax Exempt Hospitals Owe Their Communities   According to a study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, only 5 percent of the money that tax-exempt hospitals spent on behalf of their communities in fiscal year 2009 went to public-health programs.

LABOR UPDATES

Health Care Jobs Saved Minnesota   Bottom line: Health care jobs saved our bacon in the recession. The industry continued to grow jobs during the worst economic conditions in decades.

 

MNA NewsScan, April 22, 2013: Boston RNs talk; The jobless trap

22 Apr

NOTES ON NURSING

Boston Nurses Talk of Caring for Wounded and Families of Marathon Bombing    The screams and cries of bloody marathon bombing victims still haunt the nurses who treated them one week ago. They did their jobs as they were trained to do, putting their own fears in a box during their 12-hour shifts so they could better comfort their patients.

HEALTH CARE

Seniors Get Hung Up in Health Care Scams   Many of the fraudsters seem to be preying on the public’s confusion over the massive changes taking place in the nation’s health care system.

LABOR UPDATES

Texas Fertilizer Plant Was Storing Highly Explosive Material   The Occupational Safety and Health Administration had not inspected the plant since 1985, when it was cited for five serious violations and fined $30. Yes, 30 whole dollars. The company has also been fined in recent years, including by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for not having filed a risk-management plan and for safety violations, respectively.

Krugman:  The Jobless Trap    But while debt fears were and are misguided, there’s a real danger we’ve ignored: the corrosive effect, social and economic, of persistent high unemployment. And even as the case for debt hysteria is collapsing, our worst fears about the damage from long-term unemployment are being confirmed.

MNA Legislative Update, April 5, 2013

5 Apr

Standards of Care Update

MNA nurses and representatives continue to meet with legislators to update them on the goals of the Standards of Care Act.  MNA is proposing that hospitals be required to report their staffing plans and actual nurse hours per patient day, and a Department of Health study of hospital staffing and its effect on nursing sensitive indicators like infections, falls and pressure ulcers.  We are confident that a MDH study will validate what nurses already know–that proper nurse staffing leads to better nurse outcomes–but we also recognize the need for Minnesota-specific data.  Our main objective for the remainder of the 2013 legislative session is to ensure that a comprehensive and accurate study is completed.  Ultimately, our goal is safe staffing in every facility, on every unit and during every shift.

We still differ significantly from the hospitals on this bill. So it continues to be very important for nurses to contact our legislators to ask them to support a comprehensive and accurate study.

Contact your state legislators and ask them to support strong consumer transparency language, nurse staffing reporting and a comprehensive study that gathers real data about the correlation between staffing and health outcomes. Let them know unsafe staffing is still a problem for Minnesota patients and we need meaningful data-collection to protect patients.

Click here to use the MNA Grassroots Action Center to send an email.

Possible Sanford/Fairview Merger

Attorney General Lori Swanson is holding a public hearing this Sunday, April 7 at 1:30 pm to shed light on the possible merger of Fairview Health Services and South Dakota-based Sanford Health. This merger would further the trend of the corporatization of healthcare in Minnesota, where profits and productivity are a higher priority than patient care. Please support the Attorney General’s effort to hold these two health care corporations accountable to the taxpayers of Minnesota. RSVP to geri.katz@mnnurses.org.  

WHAT:                 Attorney General Lori Swanson’s public hearing on possible Sanford-Fairview merger
WHEN:                 Sunday, April 7, 1:30pm
WHERE:               Room 15, State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55155
DIRECTIONS/PARKING INFO: Click here

Meanwhile, the news broke yesterday that the University of Minnesota is also interested in taking over the entire Fairview system. Read the Star Tribune article here.

We are glad to see some competition for this important health care system, and we are looking forward to learning more details about both proposals. Our ultimate concern is that whatever happens, patient care and safety be the first priority of any change to Fairview.

Governor’s Budget
The Governor’s Health and Human Services budget proposal was heard in the legislature this week. The Governor proposes to increase Health and Human Services spending by $170 million, after many years of cuts to services for the elderly, disabled and vulnerable. His proposal would provide access to health care for 145,000 uninsured low-income Minnesotans, invest in school-based mental health services for our children, and reform and streamline the delivery of health care services in Minnesota.

MNA continues to support the Governor’s commitment to progressive taxation and investment in key state priorities.

Mayo “Destination Medical Center” Proposal
MNA has joined other unions to raise questions about Mayo’s request for over half a billion dollars from the state for their “Destination Medical Center” expansion project in Rochester.

We are concerned this plan lacks transparency and leaves too many questions unanswered about patient care, jobs and the impact of the project on the community. For the state to consider such a major investment in a private entity, we believe these questions must be answered first. Read more here.

Willmar State Mental Health Facility
Both the Governor’s supplemental budget and legislation proposed by Willmar lawmakers Sen. Lyle Koenen and Rep. Mary Sawatzky propose keeping the 16-bed state mental health facility in Willmar open. This facility has been slated for closure in past years, so we welcome these proposals and remain dedicated to keeping this important mental health facility open.

Legislator Town Hall Meetings

 

MNA nurses Cassie Hamilton, Pat Webster and Mary Turner speak up about patient safety at a town hall meeting with Sen. Alice Johnson, Sen. John Hoffman and Rep. Jerry Newton in Coon Rapids on Thursday.

MNA nurses Cassie Hamilton, Pat Webster and Mary Turner speak up about patient safety at a town hall meeting with Sen. Alice Johnson, Sen. John Hoffman and Rep. Jerry Newton in Coon Rapids on Thursday.

Governor Dayton and many legislators will be holding public meetings this spring to discuss the state budget and hear constituents’ concerns. These meetings are a great opportunity to meet your elected officials close to home, build a relationship with them, and educate them about nursing issues. Please attend a town hall meeting if one is coming up in your district:

Saturday, April 6

Senator Ann Rest
9:30-10:30 am
Robbinsdale City Hall, 4100 Lakeview Avenue North, ROBBINSDALE

Senator Lyle Koenen and Representative Mary Sawatzky
8:30-10:00am – Coffee and conversation
Sunberg Creamery Café, 403 Central Avenue, SUNBURG

Representative Shannon Savick
9:00-11:00am – coffee and conversation
The Bakery, Retail Room, 345 E. Main St., BLOOMING PRAIRIE

Representative John Persell
10:00am-12:00pm – Coffee and conversation
Common Ground Coffee, 1428 Hwy 5, LONGVILLE

Representative Barb Yarusso
10:00am-12:00pm
Mounds View Public Library Meeting Room, 2576 County Road 10, MOUNDS VIEW

Representative Paul Marquart and Senator Kent Eken
10:00-11:00am
Minnesota State Community and Technical College, 1900 28th Ave S, MOORHEAD

Representative Ben Lien
10:00-11:00am
M State Technical School, MOORHEAD

Senator Rod Skoe, Senator Tom Saxhaug and Representative John Persell 1:00 – 2:30pm
Bemidji City Hall, 317 4th Street NW, BEMIDJI

Tuesday, April 9

Governor Mark Dayton, Meetings with Mark town hall tour
6:00-7:30 pm
Conference Hall/ Auditorium at South Central Community and Technical College 1920 Lee Blvd, NORTH MANKATO

Saturday, April 13

Representative Zach Dorholt
9:00-11:00am
Whitney Senior Center, 1527 Northway Dr., ST. CLOUD

Representative Shannon Savick
9:00-11:00am – Coffee and conversation
Prairie Wind coffee, 211 S. Broadway, ALBERT LEA

Representative Mary Sawatzky
9:00-11:00am – Coffee and conversation
Lulu Bean’s, Small downstairs meeting room, 1020 1st St. S, WILLMAR

Tuesday, April 16

Governor Mark Dayton, Meetings with Mark town hall tour
6:00-7:30 pm Commons Area of Mesabi Range Community and Technical College 1001 West Chestnut Street, VIRGINIA

Open letter to Mayo’s Government Relations Chair

4 Apr
Kathleen M. Harrington Mayo
Government Relations, Chair 200 First Street SW Rochester, MN 55905

Dear Ms. Harrington:

Thank you for bringing your Operations staff to meet with leaders from SEIU and UNITE HERE last Friday to discuss the Mayo Destination Medical Center (DMC) and the related legislative proposal. While we have significant concerns and unanswered questions, we are excited about the possibility of significant job growth in the health care and hospitality sectors.

We look forward to meeting again in the very near future and to discussing specific proposals about the future DMC workforce and how collective bargaining can ensure these are quality jobs. We feel that, along with the Minnesota Nurses Association, we can reach an agreement that will preserve Mayo’s competitive status and promote living wage jobs.

In particular we suggest you examine the following ideas as a basis for further conversation:
• Codifying what part of the future workforce would consist of expanded operations at Mayo Methodist and St. Mary’s hospitals which would be subject to accretion under the existing SEIU HCMN contract.
• A private neutrality and chard-check agreement with SEIU HCMN and MNA for some portion of Mayo’s new or existing healthcare workforce.

  • Assurances that any union hospitality facility demolished or restructured in the DMC zone would remain union.
  • A commitment that new hospitality facilities (employing workers under NAICS Code 721100) would be required to have a labor peace agreement in place prior to construction.

Precisely because the DMC proposal will have a tremendous impact, either for good or bad, on workers in the Rochester area, we need to get clear information from you before the bill moves forward in the legislature. Therefore we will send the attached letter to legislative leaders. It urges them to refrain from moving the bill forward until our questions have been answered.

On behalf of UNITE HERE Minnesota, MNA, and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota we hope that we can reach an agreement quickly and then work jointly to pass this bill.

Sincerely yours,

Nancy Goldman, President UNITE HERE, Local 17

Jamie Gulley, President SEIU Healthcare Minnesota

Linda Hamilton, RN, President Minnesota Nurses Association

Walt Frederickson, Executive Director Minnesota Nurses Association

Mayo Needs to Answer Key Questions About Destination Medical Center

On February 7, 2013, bills were introduced in the Minnesota Legislature to request more than a half billion dollars of state assistance to the Destination Medical Center (DMC) plans drafted by Mayo Clinic and Mayo Health System. This plan lacks transparency and failed to involve key stakeholders or affected communities in and around Rochester and the state of Minnesota. February 7 was the first time most people even knew there was a plan, much less what it contained. It is very clear that as things stand there are too many unanswered questions about DMC to justify support for the project.

Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA), UNITE HERE Minnesota and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota represent three of the largest stakeholders affected by the proposed DMC. Representing nearly 50,000 families in the health care and hospitality industry in Minnesota, we are left with no choice but to OPPOSE the DMC plan until Mayo Clinic and Mayo Health System engage the community and all stakeholders to develop a DMC proposal they all understand and can support. Furthermore, we ask the legislature to withhold support for the DMC until Mayo answers key questions about the impact this proposal will have on our jobs, our homes and our communities.

1. What projects does the DMC envision building and where will they be located?

2. What jobs will be created and what do they look like; will they be union jobs or low paying jobs without benefits?

3. What is the impact on other health care and hospitality employers in the state of Minnesota?

4. Why does the DMC want authority to over-ride local government planning decisions and why should the state grant DMC the powers of eminent domain over our homes?

5. What is Mayo’s commitment to the state and low income patients in return for this tax payer money? How much charity care will be guaranteed in exchange for the state’s commitment to this project? Will Mayo be included as a provider in all health plans throughout the state?

6. Will recipients of this investment commit to labor peace agreements with the workers and the unions that represent them?

7. What will be the impact on our school districts and the impact on property taxes if tax-paying businesses are removed to make way for expanded non-profit (non-taxed) institutions?

The Minnesota Nurses Association unites 20,000 nurses in Minnesota’s Healthcare Industry, UniteHERE unites 6,000 workers in Minnesota’s Hospitality Industry and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota unites 17,000 workers in Minnesota’s Healthcare Industry, including more than 2,000 workers at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

PDF copy of letter: 130312_Mayo letter

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MNA NewsScan, April 3, 2013: RIP Harry Kelber; CAH Mortality Skyrockets

3 Apr

LABOR UPDATES

Harry Kelber:   1914 – 2013     Harry Kelber spent 80 years as a labor activist. Through it all he championed worker ownership of their unions. When Labor Notes commissioned a roundtable on “organizing the unorganized” in 2007, Harry’s contribution argued that rank-and-file workers should be part of organizing drives.

HEALTH CARE 

Did Hospitals Profit Off Drugs Meant for the Poor?   An inquiry by a U.S. senator has found that three nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina have made millions from a discount drug program intended to help the poor and uninsured.

Mortality Rates at Critical Access Hospitals Racheting Higher    The nation’s critical access hospitals have higher mortality rates on several key measures than do urban and rural hospitals without the specia l designation, and the trend steadily worsened over the past eight years, according to a new study by Harvard researchers.

CMS Reverses Course   The insurance industry chalked up one of its greatest political victories in recent memory on Monday as the Obama administration reversed course on a proposal to cut Medicare Advantage rates. After intense lobbying, the agency said Monday that it would change the proposed 2.3 percent cut to those plans to a 3.3 percent boost. That’s a significant swing worth billions of dollars to the industry next year alone.

Departing Wellpoint CEO’s Compensation Ballooned to $20.6M Last year, as Insurer’s Shares Fell   The compensation paid to outgoing Wellpoint Inc. CEO Angela Braly last year rose 56 percent, even as the company’s shares slid on lower enrollment in its Blue Cross Blue Shield health plans.

 

 

MNA NewsScan, March 27, 2013: AG Swanson sets public hearings on Fairview-Sanford merger

27 Mar

NOTES ON NURSING

RN Grad Student:  “The $4450 Urgent Care Visit     “This was one patient on one day in one healthcare facility incurring every form of systemic waste Fineberg puts forth in his article and is also illustrated by Stephen Brill’s lengthy account of overcharging, particularly those who are uninsured or underinsured.”

HEALTH CARE

Fairview-Sanford Merger Talks Bring Scrutiny   Fairview Health Services, the Twin Cities’ second-largest hospital and clinic group, is weighing a merger with South Dakota-based Sanford Health in negotiations that have triggered concerns on the part of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson.  Editor’s Note:  Nurses, consider adding your thoughts about this merger in the article’s Comment Section.    Related:  Attorney General Swanson to hold April 7 public hearing regarding Fairview/Sanford Health. Full Story.  Click Here for letter announcing hearing.

State Lax in Overseeing MinnesotaCare Eligibility   Minnesota has failed to properly vet people enrolling in a $550 million taxpayer-subsidized health insurance program despite a decade of warnings that it was breaking state and federal law, according to the Legislative Auditor.

Mental Health System Feeling the Hard Punch of Sequestration   According to the White House, if sequestration is fully implemented 373,000 mentally-ill adults and children across our nation will have to go untreated. Mental Health America reports that over the past three years, states across the country have had to cut approximately $4 billion in mental-health budgets — yet there are more cuts on the way with sequestration.

21 Graphs That Show America’s Health Care Prices are Ludicrous   This is the fundamental fact of American health care: We pay much, much more than other countries do for the exact same things. For a detailed explanation of why, see this article. But this post isn’t about the why. It’s about the prices, and the graphs.

LABOR UPDATES

MI Republicans May Slash University Funds in Revenge for Union Contracts

But majority Republicans on the state House’s higher education subcommittee were furious at what they perceived as an attempt to get around the new right-to-work law. So they voted to slash both schools’ state aid by 15 percent.

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