04/1/2009 JOHN TUCK SPOKESMAN.COM SPOKANE, WASH.
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proposed budget would pay less for brand-name pharmaceuticals in an effort to steer pharmacies toward cheaper generic drugs, which could help the state save $109 million. Pharmacies argue the state is ignoring the harm such cuts would cause if started today, and a federal judge has temporarily blocked the plan. Walgreen Co., the state’s largest medication retailer, says 44 of its pharmacies would withdraw from the program and quit filling Medicaid prescriptions if the price cuts took hold.

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Labels: brand-name pharmaceuticals, budget, Chris Gregoire, generic drugs, Medicaid, Walgreen Co., Washington

 

03/04/2009 DAILYCARDINAL.COM UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN – MADISON
If Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle chooses to expand unemployment eligibility and adopts two of the four federally recommended changes, the state would receive $89 million in funding from the federal stimulus bill. Wisconsin already took out a $400 million loan from the federal government to keep its unemployment fund afloat and with unemployment on the rise, Wisconsin federal debt is spinning out of control. Doyle has also increased business taxes as an attempt to level the budget, but increased business taxes force employers to lay off workers, who then turn to unemployment.

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Labels: budget, business taxes, Doyle, federal stimulus bill, unemployment eligibility, Wisconsin

 

6.18.08/The Associated Press via Turnto10.com Providence, Rhode Island
In Rhode Island, those living in poverty may not get the help they were expecting. State legislators are debating a spending plan that would eliminate programs intended to reduce high energy costs. The program was intended to help pay for renovations that would make the homes of the needy more energy-efficient. But due to the over $400 million spending shortfall, the state’s poor may never get to benefit from the program, which was passed more than two years ago.

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Labels: budget, energy assistance program, Providence, Rhode Island, spending