Healthways Inc. says that it can save healthcare dollars for companies by having its nurses make phone calls to the chronically ill to ensure proper care. But questions are mounting about whether the practice saves significant amounts of money.
Under a new proposal, Ascension Health would take over the struggling Prince George County (MD) hospital system. The system would be subsidized by $495 million in public money, with $297 million coming from the state and $198 million coming from Prince George County. The transfer would take five years and be overseen by an authority with seven members, five appointed by the county and two by the state. The proposal, however, could run into trouble with state officials because of its cost.
The defining difference between Democratic presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama throughout the campaign has been their contrasting views whether the government should require all Americans to have health insurance. Clinton says yes, that such a requirement is essential for creating a system in which everyone has health coverage. Obama disagrees, arguing that the law should not force anyone to buy insurance they cannot afford.
The Hall Family Foundation has donated $43 million to a massive expansion project by Kansas City, MO-based Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics. The $800 million expansion at Children's Mercy will more than double the size of its complex and increase its presence in the Kansas City-area suburbs. The Hall Foundation gift is the largest in the hospital's 110-year history, officials said.
Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center of Seattle has proposed a deal to buy a neighboring condominium complex for $93 million as part of an expansion project. The deal is contingent on the state Legislature passing a law allowing the sale of such a condo complex.
An Eastern Kentucky hospital that hired the state's former Gov. Ernie Fletcher as a consultant got a $3.4 million state settlement in the final weeks of the Fletcher administration for disputed Medicaid claims. Records from the state Department for Medicaid Services show that Kentucky agreed to pay $3,446,836 in exchange for Pikeville Medical Center dropping its claims for additional reimbursement.