As the commercial real estate market limps along during global recession, some investors say they believe medical office buildings might serve as a crutch, as it has in past economic downturns.
Although there was a sharp drop in the sales of medical buildings in the last quarter of 2008, real estate professionals say such properties are still being viewed favorably by lenders. In recent years, landlords have begun viewing doctors as particularly desirable tenants, said Robert J. Coughlan, a principal at the Tritec Real Estate Company, which has developed more than 300,000 square feet of medical offices on Long Island in the last 20 years.
For Democrats, the stimulus bill working its way through Congress is a tool for rewriting the social contract with the poor, the uninsured, and the unemployed, in ways they have long yearned to do. With little notice and no public hearings, House Democrats would create a temporary new entitlement allowing workers getting unemployment checks to qualify for Medicaid. Spouses and children could also receive benefits, no matter how much money the family had. In addition, the stimulus package would offer a subsidy to help laid-off workers retain the same health plans they had from their former employers.
Maryland district court officials want to give defendants in debt collection lawsuits new access to legal help and change the way that settlement conferences are handled, in response to criticism that hospitals and creditors often have an unfair advantage. The courts are responding to an investigation into hospital debt collection practices published by The Baltimore Sun and a University of Maryland law school study that found defendants are confused by the court process, do not understand that they sometimes have legitimate defenses, and assume that they must accept whatever terms are dictated by hospital lawyers in settlement conferences.
A growing number of workers in 2009 will pay more for health benefits—and in some cases receive less coverage—as their employers grapple with the financial fallout of rising medical expenses and diminished revenue and profits, recent surveys of human resource officials show. The Corporate Executive Board found in its survey that a quarter of officials from 350 large corporations said they had increased deductibles an average of 9% in 2008. But 30% of the employers said they expected to raise deductibles an average of 14% in 2009. The economic slowdown, according to analysts, is making it more difficult for many employers to subsidize healthcare costs at previous levels.
The panel in charge of selling Prince George's County's ailing hospital system is warning Maryland leaders that the economic climate might make finding one buyer impossible and is asking permission to sell the health facilities piecemeal. At its monthly meeting, the Prince George's Hospital Authority agreed to ask the Maryland General Assembly to allow the authority to sell the county-owned system's three hospitals and two nursing homes separately. That could mean different buyers for the more stable hospitals in Bowie and Laurel than for the system's flagship, Cheverly-based Prince George's Hospital Center.
Republican lawmakers tried to slow momentum for expanding a children's health insurance program by arguing that a bill in the Senate would draw about 2.4 million children away from private insurance into government-sponsored coverage. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-AZ, said the legislation does not do enough to limit the State Children's Health Insurance Program to low-income families. He said about a third of those who gain insurance as a result of the bill would otherwise have access to private insurance.