Libertyville, IL-based Condell Medical Center will pay a $36 million settlement to government health programs after the hospital said it accepted improper payments from federal health insurance programs for more than five years. The improper payments, which Condell executives brought to the attention of the U.S. Attorney's Office, was uncovered in the process of the medical center's due diligence with Advocate Health Care, which finalized a deal to buy the 283-bed hospital in Lake County for $180 million. The settlement resolves deals that included improper loans made to physicians, leases with doctor practices that were below fair market value and hospital payments to doctors who performed "patient services without required written agreements," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.
Federal health officials estimate that the struggling economy will speed up by one to three years the exhaustion of the Medicare trust fund covering hospital and nursing home care. Trustees for the Social Security and Medicare programs warned in March that the trust fund for Medicare Part A would become insolvent in 2019. But the chief actuary for Medicare said the economy will likely generate less revenue through payroll taxes than the trustees had projected.
Louisiana lawmakers have received their first extensive look at Gov. Bobby Jindal's healthcare proposal, as members of the state House questioned the timing and cost of a sweeping plan to revamp how the state delivers and pays for healthcare to the poor. Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine joined representatives from private hospitals, insurers, doctors, and Louisiana State University in a day-long briefing on the "Louisiana Health First" initiative. "This is the first step as we move toward the regular session," House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, said.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and its opponents are continuing their high-profile fight over legislation the health insurer wants approved by the end of the year. Blue Cross said it projects losses of nearly $264 million on its health insurance plans covering individuals in 2009 and that changes in state law are urgently needed to keep the nonprofit on solid financial footing. Critics say the changes long sought by Blue Cross would hurt consumers and give the nonprofit unfair advantages over its for-profit competitors.
Howard County, MD's groundbreaking program that offers low-cost healthcare to uninsured residents has succeeded in securing care for nearly 1,000 people. But the catch is the vast majority already qualified for existing programs and won't be part of the Healthy Howard initiative. Instead, the county is enrolling these residents in other state, federal and nonprofit programs they didn't realize they were eligible for. The disconnect points to troubling gaps not just locally but also across the nation in matching critical services with those who need them, officials said.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. is launching a health Web site for the general public in a move by the insurer to stake out a central role in the crowded field of helping consumers seek and manage healthcare information online. The site is the first such free site from a major health insurer that is aimed broadly at consumers, not just health-plan members or employees of large corporate clients. Run by UnitedHealth's health-and-wellness services unit, the site includes tools to check symptoms, a search engine for finding specific health or disease information, and a repository where consumers can maintain their personal medical information.