Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton struck a unique agreement with health care providers in his state today. Under the terms of this agreement BlueCross BlueShield, HealthPartners, Medica, and UCare will place a voluntary 1% cap on profits for 2011 managed care contracts. The one-time cap will keep earnings at 1% of revenue and return any amountRead… Read more »
Illinois is expanding broadband statewide by deploying regional groups called eTeams. According to Broadband Illinois, the partnership that manages broadband deployments statewide three regional eTeams have been established to manage specific areas of the expansion in a more manageable way. Each eTeam will be responsible for planning their local broadband deployments and developing a growthRead… Read more »
Georgia is launching a $19.4 million education innovation fund to award grants to partnerships between local education entities businesses and nonprofit organizations that develop innovative programs for students. The fund was created with the help of a federal grant awarded through Georgia’s Race to the Top (RT3) plan. The Innovation Fund will provide competitive grantsRead… Read more »
The weekend recap is the place to find out what happened last week and what’s ahead in state legislatures across the nation. Read on to learn about what you might have missed between between brunch and waking up to the cruel realization that it’s Monday. Want to call out something happening in your statehouse? EmailRead… Read more »
Wyoming will move forward on its electronic health records exchange. The state’s plan was approved by the federal government, which will provide $4.3 million in funding for the project over the next four years. Wyoming’s health information exchange was developed through a collaboration of consumers and health care providers in the state. This public-private collaborationRead… Read more »
Code for America, in collaboration with OpenPlans and the Federal Government have made the Federal IT Dashboard available for any government entity to use and customize through the organization’s Civic Commons project. The Federal IT Dashboard was launched in 2009 as a means of increasing Federal transparency, and allows users to track $80 billion ofRead… Read more »
Indiana is one step closer to having the nation’s most broad based school voucher program. The bill that passed the state House of Representatives, creates a new voucher program for low and middle income families. Under the terms of the bill, vouchers will be allotted on a sliding scale based on income. The voucher programRead… Read more »
Kansas City, Kansas will be the first “Google Fiber” community according to a surprise announcement from the company today. Google announced in February 2010 its intentions to build experimental, ultra high-speed broadband networks that reach a total of at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people. Pending City Board of Commissioners’ approval, the companyRead… Read more »
Municipal wifi is moving ahead in Houston. Yesterday, the city announced that it has chosen Alvarion to deploy a citywide 4G municipal network. The network will increase the city’s ability to provide more municipal services online, improve public safety support and better traffic management. According to the city’s municipal wifi plan, the new network willRead… Read more »
Missouri will join the group of states lining up to get billions in newly available federal railroad funds. According to an announcement this afternoon from Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, the state will be applying for funds to improve rail lines between St. Louis and Kansas City and lay the groundwork for a dedicated high-speed railRead… Read more »