Archive for June, 2008

Medicaid payments: State reimbursements are in public interest

June 30th, 2008

We are writing in response to your June 25 editorial, “Lingle should release Medicaid payments.” As an interfaith organization, we thank and appreciate your acknowledgment that it is in the public interest to provide quality care to those in Hawai’i who cannot afford it. Our governor, in her own 2007 State of the State address, [...]

Lingle should release Medicaid payments

June 25th, 2008

Editorial Does it serve the public interest to help provide quality healthcare to those in Hawai’i who can’t afford it? Of course it does. Certainly this was the motivation behind Act 284, which appropriates $16 million in state money — $8 million for fiscal year 2008 (which ends on Monday) and $8 million for FY [...]

CONTACT THE GOVERNOR BEFORE JUNE 30!

Why is Gov. Lingle refusing to release millions of dollars to strengthen reimbursements for physicians who treated our most at-risk and underserved citizens? Given the Governor’s excellent track record on healthcare issues, perhaps she’s not getting good advice. In her 2007 State of the State address, Gov. Lingle said, “High costs and low reimbursements are [...]

High-quality healthcare helps us all

June 22nd, 2008

By Jim Tollefson One of the top priority issues of The Chamber of Commerce of Hawai’i has consistently been the quality of healthcare, which includes increasing long-term-care capacity and access statewide, as well as improving payments to providers of essential healthcare services. In the 2007 legislative session, the Legislature passed a bill that would provide [...]

Doctors: Lingle broke promise on funding

June 20th, 2008

by Linda Chiem: lchiem@bizjournals.com /955-8042 Hawaii health-care advocates and doctors are at odds with Gov. Linda Lingle over her refusal to release $8 million earmarked last year to reimburse doctors who care for underinsured or uninsured patients. The doctors say Lingle has reneged on a promise she made last year to release the money by [...]

Medicaid Aid

June 14th, 2008

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Faith Action for Community Equity members waved signs and delivered a “prescription” to Gov. Linda Lingle’s office and home yesterday, asking her to release $8 million appropriated by the Legislature to supplement payments to doctors providing Medicaid services. Lingle’s budget director has said the funds won’t be released because of lack [...]

Activists want answers about Medicaid funding

June 14th, 2008

By Zahid Arab HONOLULU- (KHNL) Community activists are prescribing a direct plan for Governor Linda Lingle to release crucial Medicaid funds to ease the financial burden on hospitals and doctors. Doctors say they were promised eight million dollars in Medicaid funds and even though it’s been federally approved, they’re frustrated why the money hasn’t been [...]

Reneging on funds will have impact on needy

June 10th, 2008

I am writing in response to the June 9 article by Curtis Lum, “Isle doctors, hospitals press Lingle for cash.” Act 284 was passed last year to correct a grossly inadequate physician reimbursement system. With money promised and allocated, physicians were able to continue treating the state’s most vulnerable citizens despite the physicians’ own economic [...]