Several geriatricians say that procedures that two decades ago were seldom considered for people in their 90s are now increasingly commonplace. They include hip and knee replacement, cataract surgery, heart valve replacement, bypass operations, pacemaker implantation and treatment for slow-growing cancers. With such rapid growth of centenarians, debate has mounted over how far to go—as well as how much Medicare money to spend—in providing major medical services to extend already very long lives.
A new report from the Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit health advocacy group, has found that community health programs that encourage prevention were a better investment than those concentrating primarily on treatment. Researchers calculated potential decreases in several chronic diseases based on a $10 investment per person. They found that community health programs could reduce rates of diabetes and high blood pressure by 5% within two years and reduce the incidence of some forms of cancer and arthritis within 10 to 20 years.
Piedmont Health Services, University of North Carolina Health Care, and the UNC School of Medicine have teamed up to cut rising emergency room costs and streamline specialty care for uninsured North Carolina residents. Through Carolina Health Net, patients with frequent emergency room visits, diseases, and multiple medications are identified. It encourages them to enroll in the program, which connects them to primary care doctors at Piedmont and specialists at UNC. Approximately 800 patients are currently enrolled.
A study set to be released by the Commonwealth Fund highlights the stark contrast between what the United States spends on its health system and the quality of care it delivers, especially when compared with many other industrialized nations. The report shows that the United States spends more than twice as much on each person for healthcare as most other industrialized countries, but it has fallen to last place among those countries in preventing deaths through use of timely and effective medical care. The study assesses the United States on 37 healthcare measures, and finds little improvement since the last report.
Former HealthSouth Corp. executive Ken Livesay was sentenced to five years' probation for a third time for his role in a billion-dollar accounting fraud at the company. U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre noted Livesay's "invaluable" cooperation, his lack of a criminal history, and his decision to stop participating in the fraud before it was uncovered among reasons for the sentence. Livesay testified for four days at the trial of former HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy, who was acquitted of all charges in the fraud, and Hannibal "Sonny" Crumpler, a former vice president and division controller, who is serving an eight-year term.
Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the residents of Los Angeles against Blue Shield of California. The suit contends that Blue Shield has illegally canceled the coverage of more than 850 policyholders since 2002. Blue Shield spokesman Tom Epstein defended the cancellations, and called the suit "a cheap political stunt" that was "totally without merit." The suit is similar to those that Delgadillo filed earlier this year against insurers Anthem Blue Cross and Health Net. Like Blue Shield, those companies have denied wrongdoing and say they rescind coverage only when necessary.