Six skilled nursing facilities are still sorting through the debris and fallout of lives and jobs uprooted from a tornado that nearly leveled the entire city of Joplin, MO, in late April.

You've seen Jack Nicholson's portrayal of R.P. McMurphy in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," pretending to swallow pills given to him by Nurse Ratched in a small paper cup.

MINNESOTA--Just days after approving expansion of the state's Medicaid rolls by 95,000 people in mid-February, Gov. Mark Dayton unveiled a fiscal budget that would cut Medicaid payments for long-term care by $87 million.

Gov. Jan Brewer (R) asked Arizona's congressional delegation, as well as U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), to introduce legislation that would remove the spending requirement for state Medicaid programs. A letter from Brewer said increased Medicaid spending is one of the biggest culprits in the state's budget crisis, The Arizona Republic reported.

Gov. Haley Barbour (R) is looking to Medicaid to balance the state's troubled budget. Barbour's proposal includes a 4% reduction in Medicaid payments to nursing homes and an 8% cut to hospitals and other healthcare providers.

Governor-elect Terry Branstad (R) recently told Iowa Public Television viewers that the state's nursing home inspectors have "a gotcha attitude" when it comes to in the way they enforce regulations in Iowa nursing homes.

Nursing homes in Southeast Michigan are experiencing a budget crisis, and the area could soon face a shortage of skilled nursing facilities, according to a recent report.

Recently passed nursing home reform laws in Illinois will require facilities to increase the number of staff. It's a requirement many in the nursing home industry are calling a Catch-22.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) has called on state health officials to review the way in which the state handles reports of abuse and neglect in nursing homes.

Gov. Mark Parkinson (D) signed a bill that reverses a 10% Medicaid cut that took effect Jan. 1.