Arkansas Hospice
takes in LifeTouch
LifeTouch Hospice of El Dorado will become part of the Arkansas Hospice network, the state's largest nonprofit provider of hospice care, the organizations announced Thursday. The agreement is effective immediately.
The partnership will expand Arkansas Hospice's network to five counties in south Arkansas, giving the health care provider operations in 48 counties, up from 43.
"LifeTouch Hospice has a wonderful reputation for providing high quality, patient-centered care, and we look forward to learning, growing, and serving together for many years to come," said Judy Wooten, president and chief executive officer of Arkansas Hospice.
Officials said the agreement will strengthen the organizations' nonprofit missions as they adjust to revamped policies related to how Medicare covers and pays for hospice care. Those pending changes have led to consolidation of rural hospice companies.
LifeTouch has been part of the Share Foundation, founded in El Dorado in 1996 to enhance wellness in rural communities. Arkansas Hospice will continue to provide care in the area from offices in El Dorado and Magnolia.
-- Andrew Moreau
Alabama bill halves
4% sales tax on food
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama lawmakers Thursday voted to remove half of the 4% state sales tax on food.
Lawmakers unanimously gave final approval to the legislation. It would gradually remove half of the state's 4% sales tax on food by Sept. 1, 2024, provided there is enough revenue growth to offset the loss. The bill now goes to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey.
Alabama is one of only three states that tax groceries at the same rate as other purchases.
"This is going be great for working Alabamians. Folks who are struggling to put food on the table," Republican Sen. Andrew Jones, sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, said after Senate passage.
Similar measures had been proposed unsuccessfully for decades.
The bill would reduce the 4% tax on food to 3% on Sept. 1. It would drop to 2% on Sept. 1, 2024, provided that tax collections to the Education Trust Fund are projected to rise more than enough to offset the loss.
-- The Associated Press
Arkansas Index ends
at 752.43, up 13.98
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Thursday at 752.43, up 13.98.
"The energy and consumer discretionary sectors led stocks higher ahead of monthly job data due [this] morning expected to show a deceleration in job growth for May which may allow the Federal Reserve to pause hiking interest rates at their next meeting," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephen's Inc.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.