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Ohio: House-senate

June 1, 2009 - 01:24 pm
NEWS FEED: Columbus Dispatch

Editorial: Unhealthy treatment

They just call them fees instead of taxes. One of the most harmful is the proposed hospital franchise fee, which would cost Ohio's cash-strapped hospitals $127 million, $333 million or $411 million, depending on whose plan and estimates one adopts.

The basic arithmetic is this: The state would impose the fee on hospitals and apply the revenue generated to the state's share of Medicaid. That money, combined with similar assessments on other health-care providers, would draw about $2 billion in matching funds from the federal government for the state's Medicaid program.

In return, the governor proposed to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates to hospitals so that they recoup some of the franchise fees they pay.

Read More at Columbus Dispatch >
There have been 31 comments posted in response to this story.

May 15, 2009 - 10:56 am
NEWS FEED: Columbus Dispatch

Charter-school advocates rally against cuts in state aid

By Catherine Candisky

About 2,000 charter school students, parents, teachers and their supporters marched on the Statehouse today to protest proposed cuts in state aid to the tax-funded, privately operated schools.

Gathering this morning at Veterans Memorial, the protesters carried signs and chanted as they marched four blocks to the Capitol for a rally organized by My School, My Choice, a coalition of charter-school advocates.

They say proposed cuts in state aid will force many charter schools to close.

"If they cut funding to the charter schools, they are going to start closing down and students would end up back in public schools, which, if it were working, we wouldn't have left," said Robby Hunt of the West Side, who held a sign that read, "I am not a line item.

Read More at Columbus Dispatch >
There have been 28 comments posted in response to this story.

February 13, 2009 - 08:03 am
NEWS FEED: Columbus Dispatch

How the stimulus bill helps Ohio

By Jonathan Riskind, Mark Niquette

Democrats say the $8 billion or so expected to flow into Ohio will help create or save thousands of jobs, allow Gov. Ted Strickland to reduce the state's budget shortfall and give more than 4 million Ohioans at least a modest tax break.

Even so, Strickland speculated yesterday that the package still could leave a hole of $400 million or $500 million in his proposed $54.7 billion, two-year budget, based on previous assumptions of how much federal funding would be approved.

The governor said he needs more details about the final bill and last-minute changes, but he said that additional cuts to his proposed budget are possible, except in education spending, which he vowed to protect.

Read More at Columbus Dispatch >
There have been 23 comments posted in response to this story.