A check forgery ring targeted patients at Boston-based New England Baptist Hospital, according to hospital and law enforcement officials. The forgers used private checking account information and stole identities to take as much as $3,000 from each victim. So far, nine victims have been identified by the hospital, but more may have been targeted, officials said.
Two health trade groups will begin airing dueling ads in their fight over Medicare as lawmakers face pressure to reverse scheduled cuts in doctor fees. America's Health Insurance Plans' ads say reducing payments to UnitedHealth Group Inc. and other private insurers through Medicare Advantage could push millions of seniors out of their current coverage. On the other side, the American Medical Association is airing new television and radio ads in six states that targets a group of senators who blocked action on the proposed legislation.
The Bush administration has announced it is freezing a scheduled 10% fee cut for doctors who treat Medicare patients, giving Congress time to act to prevent the cuts when lawmakers return from a July 4 recess. Kevin Schweers, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will hold doctors' Medicare claims for services delivered on or after July 1. Claims for services received on or before June 30 will be processed as usual, he said. Congress, not willing to face millions of angry seniors at the polls in November, will almost certainly act quickly when it returns to Washington to prevent the cuts in payments for doctors who treat Medicare patients.
Alexandria, VA-based SureScripts and St. Paul, MN-based RxHub, the nation's two electronic prescription networks, plan to announce that they are merging in an effort to encourage the adoption of their technology by doctors and patients. The companies say they hope the broader use of the technology will cut down on costs and medical mistakes. For about seven years, the firms have tried to persuade doctors to dump handwritten prescriptions in favor of sending prescriptions electronically, but doctors have been slow to adopt.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has fined Central Florida Regional Hospital $10,000. It concluded the security system in the maternity ward at the hospital was too lax, and allowed a baby to be abducted in March.
The Nemours Foundation has released the master site plan for its children's hospital in Lake Nona, FL, and announced it had enlisted more than 150 healthcare business experts, clinicians, architects and individuals to help design the project. Nemours' site, which will include a hospital, outpatient clinic, ambulatory surgery center, and other supporting facilities on a 60-acre parcel, will not only be child-friendly but environmentally sensitive, according to Nemours representatives.