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Clock ticking on full Medicaid expansion funds

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:12:00 GMT

States still mired in the fight over the Obamacare Medicaid expansion are starting to give up on their first year of full funding — and it's unclear whether they would be able to tap into the money before 2015. Expansion remains an open question in about a dozen states after months of legislative fights. As more states continue to wrap up their budgets, some are already looking to next year's legislative sessions as their next shot at the expansion, even amid calls for state legislatures to return for special sessions.

Immigrant healthcare bills stump House group

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:09:00 GMT

WASHINGTON -- Differences over whether immigrants should be deported for failing to have health insurance or pay their healthcare bills have stalled a bipartisan group of House lawmakers, who blew past a self-imposed Thursday deadline as they pressed forward on a sweeping immigration overhaul. Negotiators emerged upbeat from a closed-door meeting in the Capitol and said they remained on track to produce a bill by June. That, in itself, was significant, after the group of eight was on the verge of breakup. "We were all positive that we can move forward," said Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho, a top Republican leading the bipartisan effort.

Some unions now angry about healthcare overhaul

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:05:00 GMT

WASHINGTON -- When President Barack Obama pushed his health care overhaul plan through Congress, he counted labor unions among his strongest supporters. But some unions leaders have grown frustrated and angry about what they say are unexpected consequences of the new law - problems that they say could jeopardize the health benefits offered to millions of their members. The issue could create a political headache next year for Democrats facing re-election if disgruntled union members believe the Obama administration and Congress aren't working to fix the problem.

CA picks 13 health plans for state-run insurance market

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:03:00 GMT

After weeks of negotiations, California said it has selected 13 health plans for a new state-run insurance marketplace where as many as 5 million people will shop for coverage next year. Officials at Covered California, the state agency implementing the federal Affordable Care Act, said Thursday that the winning bidders reflected a mix of large commercial insurers and smaller regional plans. The state also released some sample rates, illustrating how premiums will vary across health plans in this new market.

Insurance premiums after ACA kicks in remain a mystery

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Whether health insurance rates under the Affordable Care Act will rise or fall is still a big unknown, as a recent congressional report made clear. Two large New Jersey insurers submitted widely divergent estimates for the future cost of insurance premiums -- one saying they could rise as much as 19 percent, another saying they could fall by up to 25 percent. In addition, one insurer said premiums for small businesses would rise by 16 percent. The costs were provided to Congress with the proviso that the estimates would remain anonymous.

Incentives push doctors to electronic medical records

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:00 GMT

WASHINGTON -- More than half of doctors' offices and 80% of hospitals that provide Medicare or Medicaid will have electronic health records by the end of the year, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday. "We have reached a tipping point in adoption of electronic health records," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and they "are critical to modernizing our health care system." The announcement comes as a key part of the 2010 health care law: Doctors with have can better track errors and prevent future problems.

Hundreds of nurses walk out at two San Jose hospitals

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:55:00 GMT

SAN JOSE (KCBS) – A large group of registered nurses walked off the job Thursday morning at two hospitals in San Jose. Instead of changing IVs and administering medication, nurses at Good Samaritan Hospital and Regional Medical Center were walking the picket line in a dispute over wages, benefits, pension and staffing levels. The union represents 1,400 members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United. "What we're asking for is that the hospital has sufficient staff to staff for all patients that are coming into the hospital and also to staff for all patients that are going to be discharged, but haven't left yet," said Malinda Markowitz with the California Nurses Association.

Intermountain Healthcare alerts patients to cumulative radiation exposure

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:51:00 GMT

Roughly 25 patients a day are wheeled into Intermountain Medical Center's "cath lab" for CT scans to look for calcium buildup in their coronary arteries. Coronary artery scans — the newest addition to radiologists' growing arsenal of diagnostic tools — can aid doctors in diagnosing heart problems early. But they expose patients to 50 to 150 times the radiation of a chest X-ray, raising their risk for developing cancer later in life. "We want to make sure patients are getting tests only for the right reasons," said cardiologist Donald Lappé at a news conference Wednesday touting a 9-month-old initiative aimed at ensuring just that.

IL Senate approves health insurance exchange

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:49:00 GMT

The Illinois Senate took a key step toward implementing the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare." Senators approved the creation of a "health insurance exchange." Starting next year, Americans must have insurance or face penalties. Under the Affordable Care Act, states have the option to create their own health insurance exchanges or partner with the federal government. A health insurance exchange is at the heart of the Affordable Care Act. It's a marketplace where people who don't otherwise have insurance -- like through an employer -- are supposed to be able to find it.

3-D printer makes life-saving splint for baby's airway

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:45:00 GMT

A 3-D printer is being credited with helping to save an Ohio baby's life, after doctors "printed" a tube to support a weak airway that caused him to stop breathing. The innovative procedure has allowed Kaiba Gionfriddo, of Youngstown, Ohio, to stay off a ventilator for more than a year. The splint that changed Kaiba's life was implanted in February of 2012, when he was 3 months old. Resembling a vacuum cleaner's hose, with ridges to resist collapse, the splint is made out of bioresorbable plastics that will dissolve within three years, according to the University of Michigan doctors who developed the unique treatment. They wrote about the implant in today's issue of the .

How the most powerful woman in healthcare finds balance

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:26:00 GMT

Since taking her post as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2009, Power Woman Kathleen Sebelius has arguably one of the most difficult jobs in the nation. Just named by Forbes as the 25th Most Powerful Woman in the world, she's not just at the center of one of the most controversial and immensely complicated pieces of legislation in this country – the Affordable Care Act – she's tasked with turning it into a reality. For Sebelius, this involves a nightmare of administrative challenges, particularly given that something on this scale and difficulty has never before been attempted in American history with the possible exception of Franklin Roosevelt's National Recovery Administration which the Supreme Court eventually ruled to be unconstitutional.

UC hospitals cancel surgeries, divert patients amid strike

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:23:00 GMT

A strike by University of California patient care workers Tuesday caused the cancellation of hundreds of surgeries, the closure of laboratory stations and the diversion of emergency room patients, officials said. The hospitals prepared for the two-day strike by postponing elective surgeries and hiring temporary workers, but services still were affected after thousands of employees took to the picket line at the medical centers in Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento, where the UC Davis facility is located.

Scramble at Moore Medical Center as tornado hit

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:21:00 GMT

A massive tornado swept through the Oklahoma City area Monday afternoon, leaving ruin in its path. Moore Medical Center, which stood directly in the tornado's path, was . But the workers, patients and their families in the hospital escaped. Nick Stremble, a registered nurse and manager at the hospital, told Shots Tuesday what he saw. "My ER is destroyed," he said. "My department was at the Moore Medical Center. I mean it's wiped out. The building is roped off so we're not doing anything there." About 250 or 300 people were inside as the storm approached. The staff was able to direct everyone to designated zones located in the center of the hospital.

Cost cuts further UC Health expansion

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:18:00 GMT

The expansion of UC Health is accelerating, from Florence to Trenton, from babies to proton beams. Created in 2010 from the remnants of the collapsing Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, the system set up by the University of Cincinnati is poised to spend more than $300 million during the next few years, at the same time it's slashing expenses to try to get more efficient. Every big health system in the region is pursuing the same seemingly opposite goals, nudged by the looming specter of health care reform to take effect in 2014 and the relentless march toward consolidation of doctors and services under huge corporate umbrellas.

Latest from Parkland: All the good stuff happens in executive session

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:16:00 GMT

Parkland Memorial Hospital's board of managers met Wednesday for its monthly committee meetings, an all-day affair starting at 8 a.m. and ending somewhere around 3 p.m. The agendas promised lively discussions about: – The federal Affordable Care Act, which likely will bring dramatic changes to Dallas County's lone public hospital. – Review of recent "safety events" at the hospital, which actually describe mistakes that had the potential to harm patients. And, most importantly, an update on the hospital's efforts to satisfy a System's Improvement Agreement with the federal government, Parkland's on-going effort to retain its government funding. However, none of these discussions occurred during the board’s public session. They took place behind closed doors so that the media and members of the general public could not hear what anyone said.

Opinion: Health IT—Make sure policy umbrella is big enough for all

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:13:00 GMT

The growing trend toward incorporating health information technology (HIT) and patient-defined and patient-generated data into the healthcare delivery system is clear. From funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to provisions included in the 2010 Affordable Care Act, to the call for inclusion of patient-generated data in Stage 3 meaningful use, HIT implementation is an essential component of federal plans to improve healthcare quality and lower costs. The trend may be clear, but we still need a better comprehension of how broad the range of patient-generated data really is.

KY short 3,800 doctors even before Medicaid expansion

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:10:00 GMT

FRANKFORT, KY. — Kentucky needs 3,790 more doctors, including 183 additional primary care physicians, to meet current demand for care — and those numbers will grow when more Kentuckians get coverage through a Medicaid expansion and health benefit exchange under health reform. Those are some of the findings in a workforce capacity study report by Deloitte Consulting that was the subject of a briefing Wednesday held by the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The report is scheduled to be made available on the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange website next week.

Lake Erie Regional Health System cuts jobs at two hospitals

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:08:00 GMT

The parent corporation of Lake Shore Health Care Center in Irving and Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk has laid off at least 40 employees over the past two days to lower costs and eliminate overlapping services, The Buffalo News has learned. Lake Erie Regional Health System of New York laid off about 40 employees at Lake Shore Health Care across a variety of departments, with workers learning their fates late Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a current hospital employee and an employee who was laid off, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.

All ME hospitals sign on to electronic health records exchange

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:06:00 GMT

All of Maine's acute-care hospitals have agreed to participate in statewide network that allows health care providers to share and view patients' health records electronically. HealthInfoNet, a Portland nonprofit that operates the health records exchange, announced Tuesday that 34 of the state's hospitals already are connected to the system and four more are under contract to connect by the end of the year. The exchange was launched in July 2009. Maine is one of just a few states to have all of its hospitals connected to a health records exchange that allows providers to securely find and request information about patients from other providers, according to HealthInfoNet.

Opinion: Colonoscopy mill operator doesn't concern insurance company

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:02:00 GMT

To hear Health Plan of Nevada's advocates tell it, Dr. Dipak Desai was a master of deception. He was a real sleight-of-hand artist, a veritable David Copperfield of the colonoscopy. The fact Desai and a nurse anesthetist are on trial facing a list of criminal charges including second-degree murder illustrates the fact he's the one at fault. HPN, on the other hand, is a dedicated and charitable servant of nearly 500,000 Nevadans' health care needs. Its reputation has been besmirched by last month's staggering $500 million punitive damage award for its role in the hepatitis C outbreak at Desai's now-closed Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada.