HealthLeadersMedia.com - Leadership News & Analysis

AHA: Labor is Biggest Factor in Hospital Cost Growth

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:47:00 GMT

While hospital care accounts for one-third of dollars spent in healthcare, overall spending for hospital care has shown the slowest growth among healthcare services, according to a new American Hospital Association report that examines spending growth on patient care. From 2007 to 2008, spending for hospital care rose by 4.5%. The single most important factor driving up costs was labor, accounting for about 35% of overall growth.

Partnership's Aggressive Policies Prevent H1N1 Outbreak

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:55:00 GMT

Now that H1N1 fears have seemingly subsided, many infection control departments are evaluating their flu prevention programs, looking for deficiencies, while also noting effective policies and procedures. Two Seattle area facilities created an aggressive prevention program that resulted in no increase of H1N1 cases in the facility month-to-month, despite a 100-fold increase in H1N1 cases in the area.

Four Steps to Better Leadership

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:24:00 GMT

Sometimes we all need a refresher course in what it takes to be a good leader—me included.

Congressional Democrats Expect Health Reform Passage Soon

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:01:00 GMT

With a change here and a discussion there, a healthcare reform measure appears to have inched its way closer to a starting point on the route to a final passage. However, there are several new twists.

Democrats move toward grouping health reform with student-aid bill

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:56:00 GMT

Democratic leaders announced that they were increasingly inclined to release a final healthcare bill that would not only guarantee coverage to 30 million uninsured Americans, but also vastly expand federal aid for college students, the Washington Post reports. Key Senate Democrats initially balked at combining the healthreform bill with a measure that overhauls the nation's student-loan program, but now they had warmed to the idea, the Post reports.

Hospitals big loser in Georgia governor's budget

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:55:00 GMT

Hospitals would face hundreds of millions in new fees and taxes under Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue's revised budget plan. Perdue finds $244 million in new revenue through fee increases and by taking away the sales tax exemption that nonprofit hospitals enjoy for purchases, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The governor also said he would reduce the rate by which hospitals and doctors are reimbursed for treating Medicaid patients by 10.25%.

Democrats struggle to finish health bill

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:54:00 GMT

House and Senate Democratic leaders struggled to stitch together pieces of a final healthcare bill as some Democrats demanded more information about the contents of the bill and its cost, the New York Times reports. Lawmakers said they had received few details about what would be in the legislation. They were also not given the text of the latest legislation drafted by House and Senate Democratic leaders and the White House to address widespread concerns about the bill passed by the Senate in December, the Times reports.

Houston-based Memorial Hermann wins antitrust case

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:50:00 GMT

Houston-based Memorial Hermann did not use improper antitrust tactics to coerce insurance companies into boycotting a startup hospital, a jury found. Jurors found against six doctors who filed a lawsuit accusing Memorial Hermann Healthcare System of causing the death of doctor-owned Houston Town & Country Hospital by getting the largest insurance companies to refuse to place their patients in the new hospital.

Massachusetts seeks fair shake in health bill

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:52:00 GMT

President Obama's demand to delete "special deals" in the healthcare package would eliminate $500 million in extra Medicaid cash for Massachusetts, but Massachusetts lawmakers say they are confident the state would recoup that and probably more once negotiations are complete, the Boston Globe reports. Obama has told congressional leaders to remove the deals to make the reform proposal more salable to the public. One of those deals is a Senate provision to reimburse Massachusetts and Vermont for having already expanded Medicaid coverage to a broader base of low-income people.

Republicans warn House Democrats they may lose their jobs by backing health bill

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT

Early in the health reform debate, the GOP message was aimed at public opinion. But as Democrats show signs of pushing ahead, Republicans are focusing their arguments on their colleagues, the Wall Street Journal reports. With a final vote drawing near on President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, Republicans are warning Democratic lawmakers that saying a "yes" vote puts their political careers at risk. For example, the National Republican Congressional Committee, which coordinates GOP House campaigns, has launched an initiative targeting individual Democrats, the Journal reports.

Caring for a Child's Unique Needs: PA Health Network Plans Pediatric ED

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:29:00 GMT

To meet increasing demand for pediatric care, Lehigh Valley (PA) Health Network has announced plans to establish a pediatric emergency department. The facility will be constructed in space adjacent to the current emergency department at Lehigh Valley Hospital Center-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township, PA, and is expected to be completed in spring 2011.

Poor Air Quality Leads to More Hospital Costs, Says RAND

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:03:00 GMT

California's long-standing and severe smog problems cause many avoidable hospitalizations that added $193 million in hospital costs between 2005 and 2007, according to a RAND Corp. report. The researchers broke the cost of that dirty air down by the number of patients treated at sample hospitals in certain high air pollution counties in the state.

Obama gets tough on healthcare fraud

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:58:00 GMT

President Obama has ordered a crackdown on Medicare and Medicaid waste and fraud, saying he was unleashing auditors around the country as part of a special program to ferret out government overpayments to hospitals and doctors, as well as to other contractors. "The healthcare system has billions of dollars that should go to patient care, and they're lost each and every year to fraud and abuse and massive subsidies that line the pockets of insurance company executives," Obama said during a speech.

Federal Leaders Promote ACOs as Part of Health Reform

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:19:00 GMT

Current and former top Medicare officials told an American's Health Insurance Plans conference on Wednesday that new directions for healthcare payment reform could include public and private collaborations, such as Accountable Care Organizations.

In St. Louis area, Obama pounds drum for healthcare initiative

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:01:00 GMT

President Obama made an impassioned case in Missouri Wednesday for his healthcare proposal, delivering a partisan argument for reform as industry groups prepare a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign to defeat it, the Washington Post reports. During the speech, Obama criticized his Republican opposition, Washington's wasteful spending, and rising insurance premiums. Obama is visiting media markets that touch multiple congressional districts, and intends to lobby wavering House Democrats to vote for a Senate version of the legislation and to support the subsequent reconciliation process, the Post reports.

Grand jury is probing Jackson Health System

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:59:00 GMT

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has presented to a grand jury complaints about "gross mismanagement" at Jackson Health System. Meanwhile, with Jackson executives using end-of-life terms like "death spiral" and "insolvency," Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez said he would help get Jackson get a short-term loan but demanded its governing body speed up a decision on a recovery plan. Last week, Jackson CEO Eneida Roldan called for the Public Health Trust to approve a plan to cut $160 million by March 22. She proposed cutting 4,500 jobs and closing two suburban hospitals if additional funding is not found.

Senate Approves Delaying Physician Pay Cut Until October 1

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:16:00 GMT

The Senate voted to delay a 21.2% physician pay cut in Medicare reimbursement until October 1. The vote was 62 to 36.

More Children Hospitalized With Severe Clostridium Difficile, Says Study

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:01:00 GMT

The strain of clostridium difficile causing severe disease in children has been increasing from 7.24 per 10,000 hospitalizations in 1997 to 12.8 in 2006, most of it during the latter six years, according to a new study. The study's author says the finding should prompt health providers to be even more careful with the use of antibiotics, which may pave the way for the dramatic increase.

Business buys ads vs. health overhaul

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:09:00 GMT

Some of the largest U.S. business groups announced a multimillion-dollar television advertising campaign aimed at defeating the Democrats' pending healthcare legislation, the Wall Street Journal reports. The business coalition, Employers for a Healthy Economy, said it would run between $4 million and $10 million of ads targeting the districts of several dozen Democratic lawmakers, carrying the message that the bill would cause job losses. The ads are being funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade associations that represent a broad swath of industry, the Journal reports.

Thousands rally to support healthcare reform in downtown Washington, DC

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:08:00 GMT

Thousands of protesters marched through downtown Washington, DC, to criticize the health insurance industry and attempt to draw support for the Democratic proposal to overhaul the system. Organizers with Health Care for America Now, a coalition of labor and other liberal groups, targeted insurance company leaders attending a policy conference held by industry advocates. The demonstrators marched to make a mock "citizen's arrest" of insurance executives, who were demonized on demonstration posters and over the loudspeaker, the Washington Post reports.