OCR Text |
Show Storehouse Report Medical Aid Program Curtailed In Effort to Balance Finances Uy C. SHARP All medical procedures in Ulah for welfare recipients recip-ients which may be delayed delay-ed without threatening ! life were halted Sept. 2 by the State Family Services Servi-ces Division. I This was done as an additional ad-ditional measure to help halt a mounting deficit in welfare fuids. Earlier steps taken include in-clude : A five per cent slash in public assistance grants effective Oct. 1. General Assistance Cut Cutting the general assistance as-sistance program (supported (support-ed exclusively by state funds) by $333,000 and transferring this amount to other programs which qualify for federal matching match-ing to cover 70 per cent of the cost. Richard P. Lindsay, division di-vision director, said most of the savings will op me in payments for hospital and nursing home care. Just how much can be saved through the deferment defer-ment cannot yet be esti- mated, he said. Deferred medical services servi-ces include reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, ton-silectomies ton-silectomies and operations for hemorroids and certain cer-tain types of hernias. Review Functions The deferment program will be operated by the 'Medical Review Committee Commit-tee under the Council of Medicaid Management, with consultation of the medical and hospital associations, as-sociations, Dr. Bruce A. Walter said. Walter is director of medical me-dical care services, Stale Health Division, and chairman chair-man of the State Council of Medicaid Management. Psychiatric help is to to provided only in cases where there is a strong indication in-dication that positive results re-sults may be achieved speedily Computer Coordinator Lindsay also announced appointment of Earl W. Graves as data processing coordinator for the division. divi-sion. The federal team which studied the Utah program recently was critical cri-tical of loopholes in the division's data processing operations. The state's two largest school districts, Granite and Salt Lake City, finally reached a settlement with teachers last week. Salt Lake City District ijeachers accepted a salary sal-ary increase of more than five per cent and lost only half a day's school, opening open-ing the afternoon of Aug. 31. Granite District teachers on Sept. 2 accepted an increase in-crease of 5.25 per cent. This was done after many of the schools were picketed picket-ed by teachers Monday and Tuesday. Demanded 7.1 pet. The Granite teachers had demanded a 7.1 per cent increase. Agitation meanwhile $ growing for negotiations of two-year or even three-year three-year teacher contracts. Both school boards and teacher associations also mentioned need for "open" negotiations. Because of clauses in agreements between be-tween teachers and school boards an embargo was clamped on all negotiation reports this year. The State Tax Commission Commis-sion Sept. 2 reported a 10.2 per cent increase in sales tax collections during the past two months as compared com-pared with a year ago. Gasoline tax collections in the two months were up 13.3 per cent. There was no satisfactory satisfac-tory comparison in income in-come withholding tax collections col-lections because of a windfall wind-fall last year caused by a new law requiring large employers to remit monthly month-ly instead of quarterly. The State Supreme Court probably will be fully current cur-rent when it begins its fall term Sept. 14. Last week only two cases which had been argued before the court remained to be decided. The two decisions were expected by Sept. 14. Chief Justice J. Allen Crockett reported that the court now is handling about 400 to 500 appeals each year, which is three times as many as when a five-judge court was first established by the state in 1917. . An allocation of $13,000 for development of Moab City Park was announced Sept. 2 by Gov. Calvin L. Rampton. This is in Federal Land and Water Conservation Funds as recommended by the Utah Outdoor Recreation Recre-ation Agency chaired by Gordon E. Harmston, executive exec-utive director, State Natural Nat-ural Resources Department. Depart-ment. All funds allocated must be matched at least 50-50 by the local agencies, including in-cluding Moab. The state will receive $1.48 million from the fund this year which will be spread among 23 outdoor out-door recreation areas. This brings to $6.21 million these funds received since the Land and Water Conservation Con-servation Fund Program was started in 1965. |