A Stimulus Pool For Small Businesses Runs Dry

A pot of stimulus money set aside for small business loans has run out, CNN Money reports.

Congress gave the Small Business Administration $375 million to help small businesses get loans in a tough credit market. That money was used to waive the fees usually charged to banks that want the SBA to guarantee loans they make to small businesses. The money also went to raise the cap on how much of the loan the SBA would guarantee, to 90 percent of the loan. Despite the incentives, CNN Money reports that the number of bank loans backed by the SBA in the year that ended Sept. 30 still fell by a third over the previous year.

An organization that describes itself as “the nation’s principal voice for the medical group practice profession” has warned that the government risks “squandering” the billions of stimulus dollars set aside for health information technology. ModernHealthcare.com reports that the Medical Group Management Association sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services warning that “an inappropriate definition of meaningful use and inefficient use of the program will … result in the needless squandering of resources and significant disruption to the nation care system.” Health care providers can qualify for the estimated $34 billion in federal stimulus reimbursements for health IT by showing that they have electronic health-record systems installed, and showing that those systems are being used in a “meaningful manner.” But the government has yet to fully define what that means.

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