Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers throughout Southern California have voted to quit the giant Service Employees International Union and join a smaller rival union, according to election results. The National Labor Relations Board said that about 2,000 nurses and care professionals voted more than 6 to 1 in favor of ditching the SEIU and affiliating with the rival National Union of Healthcare Workers. The SEIU is engaged in a battle for workers' allegiance with the emergent NUHW, headed by former SEIU leaders ousted a year ago in a takeover, the Los Angeles Times reports.
One of New York City's largest hospital systems has made an offer to take over the financially struggling St. Vincent's Hospital, provoking opposition from elected officials who fear the loss of critical medical services, especially emergency care, for tens of thousands of patients who could be sent elsewhere. The proposal by the hospital system, Continuum Health Partners, to take over St. Vincent's and turn it into an outpatient center would mean the loss of the city's last Catholic general hospital, the New York Times reports. St. Vincent's treats a disproportionate number of poor, homeless, and uninsured patients.
The Mayo Clinic's first clinic abroad, in the UAE's emirate of Dubai, is closing its doors in Dubai Healthcare City. The HealthCare City, a $5.3 billion healthcare free zone, is facing delays as the emirate struggles financially. With too few patients for its one cardiologist in Dubai and barely able to break even, the Mayo Clinic is closing its medical practice there. Instead, the clinic will revert back to a regional office that attracts local patients to its Minnesota hospital, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Seeking to avert the collapse of major healthcare legislation, the White House and Democratic leaders in Congress face a decision about whether to use a procedural maneuver that would allow them to advance the bill despite the loss of their 60-vote majority in the Senate, the New York Times reports. The maneuver, known as budget reconciliation, could allow President Obama and his party to push the legislation through Congress with a simple majority vote in the Senate. But it carries numerous risks, including the possibility of a political backlash, the Times reports.
In Gov. David Paterson's proposed New York state budget, he has included a push to restrict ties between doctors and drug companies. Several states have already moved in this direction, and Paterson's proposal is less restrictive than some, the Wall Street Journal Health Blog reports. Companies could be fined between $15,000 and $250,000 per violation, and docs and other healthcare professionals could be fined $5,000 to $10,000.
The former owners of a Los Angeles hospital have agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit over paying recruiters to bring in homeless people for unnecessary medical treatment. The U.S. attorney's office said that federal and state prosecutors settled their case against Robert Bourseau and Rudra Sabaratnam, MD, former owners of the City of Angels Medical Center. Prosecutors allege the two defrauded Medicare and Medi-Cal out of millions of dollars.