Hospital says IA House speaker used position for retaliation

An Iowa hospital is accusing state House Speaker Pat Murphy of using his position to punish it after a labor dispute involving his wife. The facility, Dubuque-based Finley Hospital, notes that the speaker was involved in a dispute between the Service Employees International Union and management at the hospital. During the argument, Murphy urged the hospital's leaders to resign, contending that they'd engaged in unfair job terminations. Now, Finley says, Murphy has struck back, writing a bill raising Medicaid reimbursements to the state's medical providers by 1 percent--while specifically excluding Finley from the increase. While the bill has passed both houses of the state legislature, some legislators remain concerned that excluding Finley may lead CMS to reject the planned increase entirely.

To learn more about the dispute:
- read this Chicago Tribune article