A year that began with great ambition for major expansions of health insurance in Sacramento and in other state capitals is ending with considerable uncertainty. The governors of California, Illinois and Pennsylvania proposed sweeping plans to restructure healthcare this year. But none will finish 2007 with bills passed and signed. In each state, the initiatives confronted entrenched opposition from insurance and other business lobbies that made it far more difficult to build a consensus for change than in the smaller New England states that acted in recent years.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has ended an 11-year legal dispute by agreeing to a $4.5 million settlement that includes $500,000 for indigent care to three hospitals.
The IRS has unveiled sweeping changes to the forms that all nonprofits must file detailing their finances, operations and community benefits. The reporting overhaul is a way of bringing more transparency and accountability to the nonprofit world. The changes affect more than 6,000 tax-exempt organizations that operate in southwestern Pennsylvania, the largest being the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Ohio's plan to greatly increase the number of uninsured children eligible for government health coverage in 2008 suffered a blow when Congress abandoned its monthslong effort to enact a sweeping expansion of State Children Health Insurance Program.
Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Northwest Newborn & Pediatric Services, a neonatal physician group practice that provides patient care at two Seattle-area hospitals.
Nearly two-thirds of California voters favor a sweeping plan to overhaul healthcare that is now pending before the Legislature, according to a new survey from the Field Poll. Aimed at extending health coverage to all Californians who lack it, the measure attracted support from voters regardless of their party affiliation, region of residence, age or income, the poll found.