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By: Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media, May 7, 2010
HCA Inc. today filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to an initial public offering of $4 billion of common stock shares. The stock will be sold by HCA and certain existing shareholders, according to a company statement.
By: Janice Simmons, for HealthLeaders Media, May 10, 2010
During the next month, a new patient's healthcare bill of rights will be put into place at the federal level to provide "simple and clear information about their choices and their rights," President Obama announced on Saturday during his weekly radio address that focused on healthcare reform. This new bill of rights will set up an appeals process "that will enforce those rights" and will prohibit insurance companies from limiting access to a patient's preferred primary care provider, obstetrician-gynecologist, or emergency room care, Obama said.
By: Elyas Bakhtiari, for HealthLeaders Media, May 7, 2010
Freezing the current Medicare physician payment rates would cost nearly $276 billion over the next 10 years, which is nearly 33% higher than the previous estimate of $207 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
By: Janice Simmons, for HealthLeaders Media, May 10, 2010
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has become the first hospital system nationwide to develop and implement a new method of monitoring and classifying where complex and difficult inpatient surgeries should be performed—based on specific criteria among its 112 surgery programs—to promote quality care and safer surgeries.
By: Janice Simmons, for HealthLeaders Media, May 10, 2010
In April, healthcare employment showed a steady growth pattern with an increase of 20,000 jobs since March—including a gain of about 6,100 jobs among hospitals, according to the monthly figures released Friday by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, in the past year the healthcare area has grown by more than 244,000 jobs, to 13.7 million.
By: Matt Phillion, for HealthLeaders Media, May 7, 2010
The Joint Commission has investigated 6,782 of the sentinel events reported from January 1995 through March 31, 2010. A total of 6,920 patients have been affected by sentinel events during that time frame, with 67%—4,642 patients—resulting in patient death.
By: John Commins, May 7, 2010
Online health insurance provider eHealth, Inc. announced that it has acquired privately-held PlanPrescriber, Inc. for $28.7 million in cash.
By: Philip Betbeze, for HealthLeaders Media, May 7, 2010
I had planned to write this week about Medicare fraud enforcement, but recent events have made that impossible.