Newsbriefs


THE U.S. WILL SPEND NEARLY $41 BILLION IN UNCOMPENSATED CARE FOR THE UNINSURED IN 2004

A study released by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured finds that uninsured Americans could incur nearly $41 billion in uncompensated health care treatment in 2004, with federal, state and local governments paying for as much as 85 percent of it. Even with uncompensated care, the study shows that people uninsured for the entire year can expect to receive about half as much care as people fully insured.

Another major finding of the study is that if the country provided coverage to all the uninsured, the cost of additional medical care provided to the newly insured would be $48 billion, an increase of 0.4 percent in health spending share of the gross domestic product, leaving 44 million Americans uninsured.

IFMC NEW CEO

The Iowa Foundation for Medical Care has appointed Donald J. Lovasz as the new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Lovasz previous experience included CEO of Chicago-based Infohealth Management Corp. He began his new position June 1st.

CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATIONS

The Iowa Board of Medical Examiners has been notified that some pharmacists are giving childhood immunizations by protocol and prescription. The IBME would like to reinforce with physicians that pharmacists are not authorized to administer immunizations to children either by protocol or prescription.