Democrats assailed Republican senators for voting against a major Medicare bill and said the Republicans should be held responsible for a 10% cut in payments to doctors that takes effect July 1. Doctors, pharmacists and advocates for Medicare beneficiaries said they would step up pressure on members of Congress when they return home for the Fourth of July recess. On June 26, Republican senators blocked efforts by Democrats to take up the bill, which would have stopped the impending cut in payments to doctors.
In the past decade, hip- and knee-replacement surgery has nearly doubled to about 750,000 operations a year and fueled a multibillion-dollar implant industry with profit margins approaching 20%. With so much money in play, competition among artificial hip and knee manufacturers has fostered a system of five-, six- and seven-figure payments to doctors in royalties, consulting deals, and speaking fees. Those financial arrangement have now come under intense scrutiny from federal prosecutors and members of Congress, who are considering legislation requiring disclosure.
Though urgent care centers have existed in small numbers for more than two decades, they're experiencing an explosion in growth now, especially in busy metro areas. Their growth is out-pacing that of retail walk-in medical clinics staffed by registered nurses or physician assistants, which also are expanding rapidly. Urgent care clinics are often dubbed "doc in the box" facilities, and estimates for the number of physician-staffed urgent clinics vary widely. The Chicago-based Urgent Care Association of America, the largest trade group, puts the number at 8,000.
UCLA Medical Center’s new hospital has admitted its first patients after successfully moving patients across the street from its old facility in a tightly scheduled operation. The 335 patients were moved at the rate of one every two minutes, and the operation capped years of planning that began after the 1994 Northridge earthquake badly damaged the old site. The opening came after significant delays, with the facility's cost growing from $597.7 million to $829.3 million.
The Texas Medical Association, the main political arm of physicians in the state, withdrew its endorsement of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn for not helping doctors avoid looming cuts in their Medicare fees. Texas Medical Association spokesman Steve Levine said its 43,000 doctors and medical students are furious because Mr. Cornyn voted to block Senate consideration of a House-passed bill to stave off 10.6% cuts in doctors' Medicare fees. Cornyn said in a prepared statement that he voted against considering the House bill because "the current physician payment system is broken" and needs to be overhauled.
The Atlanta-based Piedmont Heart Institute announced it has acquired another group of heart specialists, Cardiac Disease Specialists, and that its doctors will become PHI employees by July 1. Cardiac Disease Specialists became the third major cardiovascular physician group to join the Piedmont Heart Institute, making PHI Physicians one of the largest cardiovascular specialist groups in the Southeast. Terms of the arrangement were not disclosed, but PHI purchased CDS' hard assets, including nuclear cameras, echo machines and diagnostic test equipment, said PHI representatives.