Engler plan would increase Medicaid to nursing homes

Gov. John Engler on Tuesday proposed a plan that would increase Medicaid payments to nursing homes. Under the plan, nursing homes would pay the state $2.77 per bed each day, a charge that would raise approximately $44.7 million. The state could then earn $55.6 million in matching funds from the federal government, and would return the total of $100.3 million to nursing homes. Engler said a majority of states have adopted the same system in order to win more Medicaid money. Engler said the plan, if adopted by the Legislature, could increase payments to nursing homes by 7 percent. The Health Care Association of Michigan, which represents 280 of Michigan's 450 nursing homes, is enthusiastic about the plan.

70 teachers lose jobs in Dearborn district

Dearborn schools officials, faced with an anticipated $7 million budget deficit, are laying off 70 teachers. The layoffs are being prompted by the district's contract with its 1,200 teachers. Because not enough longer-serving Dearborn teachers have accepted buyout packages that could save the district millions, teachers under threat of layoffs must be given a month's notice, a spokesman said. The layoff notices were handed out at Monday's school board gathering.

GM considering making fewer safety features standard

General Motors Corp. is considering offering safety features such as antilock braking systems as standard equipment on fewer vehicles. The change is being considered as part of GM's efforts to cut costs, said GM's executive director for structure and safety integration. GM North America chairman Robert Lutz has said he wants to cut costs, in part, by not equipping vehicles with features customers are not necessarily willing to pay for. The antilock braking systems, or ABS, are included as standard equipment on most of GM's vehicle lineup. ABS costs the automaker about $160 per vehicle. Side air bags cost about $60 per vehicle and stability control systems about $1,500. GM equips its vehicles with 100 to 120 safety devices at no extra cost. About $250 in ``safety pricing'' has been added to the cost of GM vehicles, mostly on ABS and adjustable seat belt systems.

Documents in deportation case expected to be opened

A federal judge ordered Monday that transcripts of an Ann Arbor man's closed deportation hearings be released to the public. U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds ruled last week that the Justice Department improperly barred the media and public from immigration hearings for the co-founder of an Islamic charity with suspected links to terrorists. Rabih Haddad, 41, was arrested Dec. 14 at his Ann Arbor home on suspicion of overstaying his visa. He appeared at three closed hearings before an immigration judge in Detroit before he was transferred to Chicago, where he remains in custody. Federal authorities shut down a Muslim charity he co-founded, saying it aided terrorists. The government never explained how the charity helped terrorists, or linked Haddad personally to terrorism. The News, Detroit Free Press, Ann Arbor News, weekly Metro Times and U.S. Rep. John Conyers(D-Detroit), have sued to open the hearings.