News
Arkansas wants to privatize its Medicaid Expansion: Is this the start of a trend? How do you get recalcitrant Republicans like Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett to support expanding Medicaid, which is a key feature of Obamacare? The answer is to do it through privatization. Philly.com
6 Reasons to Be Wary of Public-Private Partnerships. Little or no democratic oversight; Competition stifled; Public sectors are saddled with the risk; The voice of the community is missing; Opportunities missed for community benefits and; Absence of strategic planning. Huffington Post
NC: NC health secretary on privatizing Medicare: Transparency is ‘pretty dangerous’ The Republican North Carolina Department Health and Human Services (DHHS) secretary this week told reporters asking for information about the state’s plan to privatize Medicaid that “transparency can get pretty dangerous.” Raw Story
NC: Medicaid privatization risky for poor, disabled. Gov. Pat McCrory rolled out an ambitious but dubious plan to privatize North Carolina’s Medicaid system….The primary stated purpose of the plan is to transfer the financial risks and cost overruns of the Medicaid system from the state and its taxpayers to the for-profit companies that would receive the bids to administer the services. But the surest way for these managed care corporations to ensure profitability would be to limit access to health care and cut critical medical services to the state’s poor, elderly and disabled people. Rocky Mount Telegram
TX: Traffic On Speedy Texas Toll Road Falls Well Short Of Expectations. Texas 130, a toll road whose 85-mile-per-hour speed limit is the fastest in the country, has drawn about half the number of drivers expected in its first months of operation and Moody’s Investor Service says that performance is poor enough that the private company that built it faces a downgrading of its credit rating. KWTX
VA: Virginia Residents Protest Against Toll Roads. Unlike most “not in my backyard” efforts, the group is not protesting an actual expansion of the interstate. The I-395 toll project is an effort to re-stripe the existing footprint of lanes that are for carpool use during rush hour and free for anyone to use during off-peak hours. Once converted to tolling, the lanes will run for the profit of Transurban, an Australian corporation. TheNewspaper.com
FL: Budget would privatize all DOC health services. Both House and Senate versions of the state’s $74 billion budget contain provisions to privatize prison health services in facilities across the majority of the state. Tallahassee.com
OH: Police, Firefighters Angry Over Role in Parking Plan. The battle to privatize parking in Cincinnati was evident today in Cincinnati council chambers. The mayor says the parking plan is the only way to save police and fire jobs. but others are saying not so fast. On Thursday night, police and fire union leaders told Local 12 they’re tired of being the sacrificial lambs when it comes to solving the budget problem. While council met to talk about options to avoid the cuts – opponents to the parking plan turned in more than 19,000 signatures to put the parking issue on the ballot. WKRC TV Cincinnati
OH: Ohio State parking privatization hits bumps in year 1. The parking privatization on Ohio State’s campus has been described as smooth by some university officials, however the first academic year under the transition hasn’t gone off without a hitch. The Lantern