Providence Health & Services has agreed to buy Tarzana (CA) Regional Medical Center from Tenet Healthcare Corp. for an undisclosed price. In 2004, Tenet disclosed that it intended to sell the medical center, but the chain had difficulty getting the real estate investment trust that owns the Tarzana building and campus to agree on the terms of a sale. Some doctors and medical staff have complained that Tenet failed to invest adequately in the hospital as it tried to sell the facility.
Harry Kovar, chief executive officer of WellNet Healthcare Inc., is worried about the proposed merger between Pennsylvania health insurers Highmark Inc. and Independence Blue Cross. Kovar says he thinks the proposed merger, which would create Pennsylvania's largest health insurer, might well have the ability to push pharmacy-benefits management businesses like his right to the sidelines. Kovar will testify on the merger during the Pennsylvania Insurance Department's public hearings, and he will urge the department to forbid the companies from "bundling," even if it does allow the merger.
Bar codes were long touted as the perfect solution to medication mistakes in hospitals. But bar codes make new problems and aren't the panacea that safety advocates expected, according to a research team at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Bar coding has not yet been proven to reduce medication errors, and often the shortcuts that caregivers develop undermine its effectiveness, the researchers found.
Connecticut has opened enrollment in the state's Charter Oak health plan. The plan is open to those who don't qualify for existing state programs and aren't insured through an employer. Individual premiums will range from $75 a month to as high as $259 a month. The state expects to serve a projected 19,200 adults during the first year, rising to 47,200 in its third year. The state is contracting with three private insurers to coordinate benefits and medical providers.
The quality of a patient's care will become the central focus of the National Health Service in England, the government has announced. Hospitals and care teams will be rewarded for achieving high standards, and patients will be able to use quality reports to help them choose where to go for treatment. The measures were announced as part of a major review into the future of the health service in England conducted by surgeon and Health Minister Lord Darzi.
The U.S. government has proposed payment changes in the Medicare health insurance program that could impact reimbursement of medical imaging, diagnostic testing and dialysis providers. The proposal is part of an annual update of how Medicare pays for the treatment of 44 million elderly and disabled individuals. Among the changes proposed are an expansion of diagnostic imaging services for which the government will trim payment when multiple procedures are done on the same patient. It also proposes no update to payment for drugs used during dialysis.