Sixteen hospitals are leading a new effort to reduce birth injuries. The effort is being coordinated by Premier Inc., a healthcare alliance that promotes hospital safety and quality. The 16 hospitals have committed to following a set of guidelines that are proven to reduce harm during the birthing process.
Hospitals that discharge homeless patients on the streets of Los Angeles without their consent could be charged with misdemeanors and fined up to $25,000 under a proposed ordinance. The measure is intended to curb the practice of taking patients from a hospital by taxi or ambulance and leaving them on skid row downtown. Under the new law, a health facility would not be allowed to transport a patient to a location other than his or her residence without written consent. In the last few years, the city attorney's office has investigated more than 50 cases of patient dumping but has filed cases against only a few hospitals.
The Los Angeles Times has asked the two major candidates competing to succeed Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke about some key issues in the city's 2nd District. Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) offer their solutions to healthcare issues facing the county and the district, such as a growing budget deficit in the county's Health Services Department, large numbers of uninsured patients and the failure to reopen Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Medical Center.
Health plans linked to two Nashville, TN-area hospital operators have been awarded new three-year contracts by the state agency that administers Arizona's Medicaid program. Representatives from Iasis Healthcare LLC said the contract awarded to its prepaid Medicaid and Medicare plan, Health Choice of Arizona Inc. in Phoenix covers Medicaid members in three additional counties. Vanguard Health Systems Inc. said the new contract the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System awarded to its Phoenix Health Plan unit involves serving Medicaid members in six additional counties.
An administrative law judge has ruled that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has not made the case to raise rates for individuals who buy their own health insurance. The ruling, if upheld by Michigan's Office of Financial and Insurance Services, could lead to smaller rate hikes than the 24% to 42% increases sought by Blue Cross for about 22,000 consumers. It also may have broader implications for businesses and the 4.6 million Michiganders with Blue Cross coverage, given the judge's comments that he found Blue Cross' $2.4 billion in reserves excessive.
Evanston Northwestern Healthcare will acquire Rush North Shore Medical Center in Skokie, IL, for $95 million. The merger will expand Evanston's brand to a fourth facility in Chicago's north suburbs. The deal, which still faces federal and state regulatory approvals, calls for Evanston Northwestern to buy the hospital and related assets for $85 million and allocate an additional $10 million to set up a community foundation that serves various health needs in Skokie and surrounding communities.