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KS's Sebelius Promotes Health Care

April 13, 2005

General News

KS—Kansas Governor Signs Two Bills to Expand Health Care Options

One gives tax credits to small businesses, the other creates cancer drug repository

Topeka, Kan. – infoZine – As part of her vision for a Healthy Kansas, Governor Kathleen Sebelius today signed into law two bills to expand health care options for Kansans. One bill gives small businesses a tax credit for offering health savings accounts to employees, while the other establishes a cancer drug repository.

“We are facing a quiet crisis in health care. That requires us to look at every option for making health care more affordable and accessible. Our first priority is to increase the number of businesses, especially small businesses, that offer health insurance to employees. That’s the most cost-effective way to cover more Kansans and that’s why I support giving tax credits to small businesses who offer coverage,” Governor Sebelius said.

SB 257 adds health savings accounts to the list of health plans that small businesses may contribute to and receive a tax credit. The bill encourages employers to offer health coverage by making the credits available to small businesses that have not contributed to a covered employee’s health insurance premium or health savings account in the previous two years. Small businesses are defined as having between two and 50 eligible employees, a majority of whom are employed in Kansas.

The second piece of legislation creates a cancer drug repository in Kansas.

“While medical advances continue to improve the odds in the fight against cancer, sadly not every patient recovers. Often, they leave behind a large amount of medicine, most of which is very expensive. Rather than letting these medicines go to waste, the cancer drug repository will accept donations of these critical medicines and make sure they get to Kansans in need,” the Governor said.

HB 2077 establishes a cancer drug repository program through which specific donated cancer drugs could be dispensed to eligible individuals. The State Board of Pharmacy will set eligibility standards and procedures for accepting and handling donated drugs.

LA—Blanco makes health care her top priority

Proposed bills target schools, the uninsured

By Robert Travis Scott
Capital bureau

BATON ROUGE—Changes in the state’s health care system, including removing vending machines from schools to reduce obesity and providing money for those in the National Guard, are among the wide-ranging programs Gov. Kathleen Blanco plans to promote in the upcoming legislative session.

Blanco has named two dozen priorities covering health care, education, economic development and coastal restoration for bills sponsored by her allies in the Legislature.

The governor’s announcement Monday that she would pursue increases in sin taxes to pay for teacher raises overshadowed the broader agenda for initiatives in the session that begins April 25.
Her foremost goal is to begin an overhaul of the state’s health care system, which has the worst budget headaches in state government.

“Everything we do is done in the shadow of a $400 million cut in Medicaid,” Blanco said, referring to the federal government’s reduced support for programs in Louisiana. “We can’t finish this complex job in just one year.”

MI – Governor Talks About Bringing Toyota to Michigan

An agreement has been reached that could bring more jobs to Michigan,but it comes from an unlikely place. Governor Granholm has announced an agreement between the State of Michigan and Japanese auto giant Toyota.

The 2 have signed a purchase agreement for roughly 700 acres of land in Washtenaw County’s York Township. It will be used to build a research center where Toyota will develop technology for their next generation of automobiles.

Governor Granholm says the deal with Toyota sets the groundwork for her to encourage Toyota to build a new automobile manufacturing plant right here in Michigan. Currently, Toyota has 10 manufacturing plants in the United States and employs more than 31,000 workers.

Recently, Toyota executives announced their intentions to build an 11th plant, but didn’t say where. Governor Granholm says, why not Michigan?

Gov. Jennifer Granholm, (D) Michigan: “We want to create jobs in Michigan. It’s very clear we are experts in auto manufacturing.”
She also says the big three will benefit from recruiting foreign automakers to set up shop in Michigan.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm: “If we bring the automakers from those countries here, then it’s a much more level playing field.”

MT—Schweitzer emphasizes support of Indians

By RICHARD PETERSON
For the Tribune

POPLAR — After touching on issues of taxation, methamphetamine and economic development with the Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board on Tuesday, Gov. Brian Schweitzer talked candidly about race issues and promised to remain a friend to Montana’s Indian tribes.

Some in the state don’t like that strong connection, and the governor said he’s taken some flak over it.

“In just the 90 days I’ve been in office, the most angry calls I get in the middle of the night are about my close relationship with folks in Indian Country,” Schweitzer said. “Some say they wanna shoot my a— because I’m an Indian lover.”

But the governor said he’d rather sit down and talk with Montana’s Indian tribes before meeting with the “redneck on the other end of the line.”

“I’m your friend. You’re my friend. And I won’t forget it,” Schweitzer said before leaving his four-hour meeting with the Fort Peck tribal council.

He added that he’ll never know what it’s like to be a Native American in Montana — to walk into a store and “be watched a little more closely than everyone else.”

During his campaign last year, Schweitzer visited the reservation and promised he’d be back to listen to the concerns of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes at Fort Peck.

He encouraged economic development through marketing of Indian culture and history, and development of the wind and oil resources on the reservation.

“The Lewis and Clark Trail is important, but the biggest attraction yet is this special place that was a functioning community 10,000 years before those two lost guys stumbled upon this place,” he said. “All things Indian are hot worldwide. Opportunities will arise.”
Schweitzer said he’ll need the tribes’ help in fighting the meth problem in the state and on the reservation. “It’s the No. 1 detriment to achieving our goals,” he said.

He also encouraged the tribal government to send him the names of the best and brightest tribal members, to be available when positions in state government or with his administration open up. “This will be my permanent legacy,” Schweitzer said.

NM—Governor coming to Clovis

By David Irvin
CNJ staff writer

Gov. Bill Richardson will be traveling through eastern New Mexico today and Thursday, updating local communities on the recent legislative session and highlighting capital outlay projects.

He will also attended a fund-raiser luncheon Thursday at the Chaparral Country Club, which will give area residents the opportunity to thank the governor for specific capital outlay projects in Clovis, event organizers said.

“I think sometimes we forget to say thank you,‿ said Beverlee McClure, president of Clovis Community College and co-sponsor of the event. “He is a governor that recognizes the rural areas, and of course gave the $1 million for the business enterprise center. I don’t know that another governor would do that.‿

WV—Manchin focuses on next moves

Pledges not to interfere in broadcasting content

By Scott Finn
Staff writer

Gov. Joe Manchin promised Tuesday not to interfere with public broadcasting’s programming or newsgathering when he becomes chairman of the state Educational Broadcasting Authority.

In an interview with Gazette editors, he also laid out some of his plans for the future after two back-to-back legislative sessions in which most of his initiatives passed.

Right now, his top priority is to sell voters on a $5.5 billion constitutional amendment to refinance the state’s pension debts.
And he’s planning a top-to-bottom review of state salaries. He wants to make sure they are in line with the private sector and more uniform across different state agencies.

Manchin said he wants control over the Educational Broadcasting Authority to make it more efficient and accountable to voters, not because he wants to change its content.

“We have no intention of influencing the programming in any way,‿ he said.

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