Connecticut Democrats have stepped up pressure on Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell to sign a health insurance bill that would open the state-employee health plan to a pool of municipalities, nonprofits and small businesses. The bill was passed by the large Democratic majorities in the House and Senate without attracting a single Republican vote. Rell's administration says that the bill's Democratic proponents exaggerate potential savings to the new pool and downplay the risk of as much as $78 million in higher costs.
Advocate Health Care, the Chicago area's largest provider of medical care, is proposing a $180 million acquisition of Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. As part of the deal, Advocate would expand Condell's emergency department, elevate trauma service, and pay for the completion of a 68-bed tower that would have all private rooms and be within Condell's 283-bed license. The move is the latest in a flurry of activity by Chicago-area hospitals to expand through acquisitions and building projects in the fast-growing suburbs. The Advocate deal could close within five months, pending regulatory approval.
Preparing for growth beyond its proposed new hospital in Chicago, Children's Memorial Hospital said it paid $18 million for a 99-year lease on a building from the Archdiocese of Chicago. The six-story building is less than one block from the future site of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. That $1 billion facility will replace Children's Memorial's Lincon Park hospital, and is scheduled open in 2012.
An Illinois woman whose child suffered brain damage at birth in a Sandwich hospital has settled a malpractice suit against the doctor, hospital and staff for $15.35 million, one of the largest settlements of its kind in the state. The woman delivered her son at Valley West Community Hospital in October 2001. The boy suffered cerebral palsy and mental retardation as a result of medical negligence during delivery, the woman's lawyers said.
Several prominent spine surgeons have moved their practice from New England Baptist Hospital in Boston to Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
The Boston Spine Group LLC said it is expanding treatment of complex orthopedic cases through Newton-Wellesley's Spine Center and Center for Joint Reconstruction Surgery. The president of Boston Spine Group said patients have said in surveys they want a more convenient location than Boston, and the group's doctors believe community hospitals that offer an array of services have a more secure future than New England Baptist and other specialty hospitals.
Rhode Island lawmakers who want to be part of the state healthcare plan do not pay for coverage, but they may start kicking in a portion of their own costs. A proposal approved by the House would require lawmakers to pay 10% of their healthcare premiums. The symbolic change was voted as the Legislature struggles to close a budget deficit of at least $434 million. To do so, the Legislature voted to cut healthcare coverage for 2,800 immigrant children and to raise healthcare costs for state retirees. They are considering plans that would eliminate subsidized healthcare for 7,400 poor adults.