Friday, December 17, 2004

State Pocketbooks Are Fuller, but Health Costs Stall Recovery
New York Times story - "The fiscal condition of the states improved this year, but soaring health costs have made it difficult for them to recover from the worst fiscal crisis in six decades, the National Governors Association said Thursday. States ended the 2004 fiscal year with balances totaling $25.3 billion, equal to 4.8 percent of state spending. That represents a significant increase from the previous year, when balances totaled $16.4 billion, or 3.2 percent of state spending..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free]. See also the full report, The Fiscal Survey of States (Adobe Acrobat format), released by the National Governor's Association and their related press release.