Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell is considering vetoing a health insurance bill after a large insurer said the bill would cost the state more than $24 million. The bill would allow municipalities, nonprofits and small businesses with fewer than 50 employees to voluntarily join the state's gigantic health insurance pool. The bill was passed by wide margins in the state House of Representatives and the Senate, was supported by most Democrats, and backed strongly by major labor unions.
The town council of Coventry, CT, has unanimously passed a resolution calling for a universal healthcare initiative at the state level. After being presented with a 450-name petition supporting the move, Coventry joined several other Connecticut towns that have passed similar measures in a grass-roots effort organized by nonprofit healthcare reformers.
Engineers at Georgia Institute of Technology are developing a sensor-equipped necklace to help patients take their medication on time. "MagneTrace" uses magnetic sensors embedded in pills to detect when a pill is ingested. The sensors pass through the patient's digestive system. If a pill is not taken at the correct time, the necklace sends a signal to a smart phone that alerts the patient. If that prompt is ignored, the phone contacts a doctor or caregiver.
Caritas Christi Health Care, a six-hospital system owned by the Archdiocese of Boston, has announced it will make advanced cardiac care available at more of its community hospitals. The new program is called the Caritas Cardiovascular Network, under which several of the chain's community hospitals will offer onsite cardiac catheterization services. The network is also part of the strategy by Caritas Christi's new chief executive to turn around the financially strapped system.
After its original plan was rejected by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan has submitted a more modest redesign of its $1.6 billion development proposal. In the revised plan, a proposed hospital tower would be 30 feet lower and 40 feet narrower, and a planned luxury condominium would be 32 feet lower and 60 feet narrower. In the redesign, five buildings within the Greenwich Village Historic District would be demolished to complete the project, while four other buildings would be adapted and reused. Under the original plan, all nine of those buildings would have been demolished.
Google has launched Google Health, a medical records service letting users store and manage their healthcare information online. Google said it built a secure computer platform separate from its search system to host medical records to keep the health information protected. Privacy advocates are skeptical, however, and seek proof that online medical information will be safe from tampering or snooping. Skeptics say the information would be valuable to insurance companies or employers out to reduce liabilities by shunning those with health issues.