West Penn Allegheny Health System and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield have announced the signing of a new five-year contract, providing coverage by the region's largest insurer in all six of West Penn Allegheny's hospitals. The agreement comes a year after West Penn Allegheny's chief executive officer accused Highmark of paying hospitals controlled by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center substantially more for the same services.
July 1 marks the one-year anniversary of the deadline for most Massachusetts residents to carry health coverage, and those who don't face tax penalties. Since the program began, the percentage of uninsured adults has dropped by nearly half, from 13% to 7%, according to studies cited by the state. Yet the Massachusetts experiment, enacted in 2006, still faces a huge challenge: costs.
The Cleveland Clinic will join with nationally known weight control program Weight Watchers to help its employees shape up and slim down. The clinic plans to announce that it will offer Weight Watchers programs at no cost to any employee enrolled in an in-house health plan that covers more than 27,000 of its 37,000 employees. Employees will have access to weight management programs, fitness centers and smoking cessation programs at no cost.
The third report since 2004 on how California hospitals treat pneumonia found that patients at the worst- performing hospitals were twice as likely to die as those at the best-ranked hospitals. Los Angeles County is in decent shape, with 20 of 92 hospitals surveyed that rated "better than expected" and four that rated "worse than expected." The report looked at 30-day mortality rates for community- acquired pneumonia between January 2003 and November 2005.
An attorney and an accountant have been charged in an alleged medical insurance scam in which thousands of patients were allegedly recruited to undergo unnecessary procedures at a Buena Park, CA, surgical center in exchange for cash or gifts. The indictment brings to 19 the number of doctors, administrators, recruiters and others charged in the case surrounding the Unity Outpatient Surgery Center, which is now closed. The operation aggressively recruited more than 2,000 patients from around the country to have unneeded procedures, including colonoscopies. In exchange, prosecutors said, the patients were rewarded with cash, vacations and cosmetic surgery, including tummy tucks and face-lifts.
Robin Wittenstein, 48, currently the hospital's chief operating officer, has been tapped to become president and CEO UMDNJ-University Hospital in Newark, NJ. Moody's Investors Services in March warned UMDNJ that its credit rating could be cut, in large part due to operating losses and anticipated state aid cuts to University Hospital. The Moody's report cited a $32 million operating loss for the first six months of the budget year, and "a quick turnaround at the hospital is unlikely," the report said.