LAWMAKERS TOOK action on several bills of interest to Illinois Farm Bureau before adjourning for spring break. .......................2
PRESIDENT OBAMA last week open parts of the Atlantic coast, the Gulf, and Alaskan waters to oil drilling and exploration. ......3
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS University’s College of Agricultural Sciences is well positioned to face future challenges. ............................9
Monday, April 5, 2010
Two sections Volume 38, No. 14
Health package to prep industry for change? BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek
Sweeping health care reforms include measures designed to initially buffer Medicaid costs for the states, offset an anticipated shortage in primary care physicians, and address the needs of rural hospitals and their patients. That’s according to National Rural Health Association (NRHA) policy representative Ali Renner, who sees “overall, a lot of very good provisions” for rural hospitals. While mandating health insurance coverage, the package creates a system of insurance exchanges to extend consumer options (see details on page 4). “Any time you have more coverage, you’re going to have less uncompensated (provider) care,” Renner told FarmWeek. Health care reforms drew fire from states worried about
forthcoming Medicaid expansion projected to cost Illinois alone $1.8 billion over a fiveyear period. Renner noted the federal government will shoul-
“So many providers already refuse to see Medicaid patients, but if they’re getting paid Medicare rates, that hopefully will be enough incentive (to
‘There will be higher Medicaid costs overall, so they’ll give states a buffer at least in the beginning.’ — Ali Renner National Rural Health Association
der costs of new Medicaid-eligible consumers for the first few years of the program. “There will be higher Medicaid costs overall, so they’ll give states a buffer at least in the beginning,” she said. “Additionally, for the first two years, they’ll (the government) pay providers who see Medicaid patients at (federal) Medicare rates.
retain patients). “And I wouldn’t be surprised if, at the end of two years, they decided to extend that bump in Medicaid payments,” said Renner. Congress also added funding for hospitals in counties with the lowest per-beneficiary Medicare spending rates. Lawmakers expanded the Medicare 340B program — which allows
“safety net” hospitals to purchase outpatient drugs at discounted rates — to include smaller “critical access” and sole-community hospitals and rural health referral centers. Congress rejected a proposal to expand 340B to inpatient drugs, but greater access to discounts “should actually help with drug availability for lowincome folks,” Renner said. Amid studies suggesting a shortfall of 40,000 primary care physicians over the next decade, NRHA continues to analyze the impact of new reforms on medical manpower. A temporary 5 percent increase in Medicaid payment
rates for primary care doctors “should be good for increasing the numbers in the workforce,” Renner said. A new “workforce commission” will study provider needs and guide help for states. Congress encouraged students to choose primary care over medical specialties and expanded resources for “rural-focused” curricula at medical schools. “It takes time to produce providers, and whether we can keep up with this influx of new covered persons remains to be seen,” Renner said nonetheless. “There will be some level of crisis before we are fully at the level of capacity.”
CONSERVATION PROMOTER
Funding woes at heart of pension reform BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek
Periodicals: Time Valued
State lawmakers took up the controversial topic of pension reform and surprisingly in less than 12 hours passed legislation to initiate change.
Legislators are on the second of a two-week break this week and are scheduled to return to the Capitol April 13. When lawmakers return, they will face passage of a state budget and hearing bills that passed in their chamber of origin. However, legislators will have a hard time topping their whirlwind action on 13 pension systems. “That was a rarity,” Kevin Semlow, Illinois Farm Bureau director of state legislation, said of the rapid passage of pension reform legislation. Semlow attributed the General Assembly’s quick action and the governor’s positive response to the legislation to the financial industry’s concerns about Illinois’ fiscal problems. State officials have been exploring the sale of $1 billion in bonds and were warned the state’s bond rating would be downgraded if they continued
to ignore Illinois’ budget problems, according to Semlow. Semlow based some of his assessment on budget discussions with key administration staff. “It was obvious the governor’s budget office was extremely concerned with how Wall Street was viewing the continuing financial failings of the state,” Semlow said. That was confirmed last week when Fitch Ratings, a bond rating agency, downgraded the state’s bond rating, he added. Fitch officially lowered the state’s rating, but two other credit rating agencies have yet to follow suit. Moody’s Investors Services is predicting a negative outlook on the state, and Standard & Poor’s began reviewing the state’s rating for a potential downgrade, according to Illinois State-
Kevin Green, a Vermilion County farmer from Fithian, inspects a wildlife food plot of Imperial White Tail clover and chicory that he planted between rows of persimmon tree seedlings. Green, who has implemented a wide variety of conservation practices on land he farms, frequently promotes the federal conservation stewardship program to fellow farmers and Farm Bureau leaders. More information on his practices appears on page 4. (Photo by Ken Kashian)
See Pension, page 2
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