Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Iowa and other states eligible for increased federal Medicaid assistance could have access to those stimulus dollars as early as Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced today that approximately $15.2 billion in Medicaid grant awards will be placed in state-specific accounts by the U.S. Treasury on Feb. 25 and will be available at that time for state draws.
The increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) — the federal match for Medicaid funding — will be administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency run under the national HHS umbrella. Funding will be given to the states based on formulas using either actual spending for the first quarter of 2009 or November 2008 estimates.
Although the stimulus package outlined special rules regarding the distribution of these and other funds, it is believed that Iowa is already reporting information mandated by the standards. The state, according to information provided today by HHS, will receive $89,098,176 in Medicaid money. Only four states — Mississippi, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina — do not currently meet the eligibility requirements for the new funding, and they will have until July 1 to make required changes.
The U.S. Treasury will set up state-specific accounts for the new Medicaid funds on Wednesday, Feb. 25. States will then be allow to request funds from those accounts, which will be deposited into each state’s Medicaid account.
The funds being set aside on Wednesday stem directly from the stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama on Feb. 17. They do not include monies from the reauthorized Children’s Health Insurance Program, as those adjustments to state disbursements are still being calculated.
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