A year that began with great ambition for major expansions of health insurance in Sacramento and in other state capitals is ending with considerable uncertainty. The governors of California, Illinois and Pennsylvania proposed sweeping plans to restructure healthcare this year. But none will finish 2007 with bills passed and signed. In each state, the initiatives confronted entrenched opposition from insurance and other business lobbies that made it far more difficult to build a consensus for change than in the smaller New England states that acted in recent years.
Medical centers are rushing to add the latest weapons against cancer--nuclear particle accelerators, formerly used only for exotic physics research. Experts say the push reflects the best and worst of the nation's market-based healthcare system. Critics say these medical centers are pursing the latest, most expensive treatments without much evidence of improved health, even as soaring costs add to the nation's economic burden. Nuclear particle accelerators are said to be more precise than the X-rays that are typically used for radiation therapy, with fewer side effects and potentially a higher cure rate.
The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee has another union representation victory after nurses at the 171-bed Whittier Hospital Medical Center in the Los Angeles area voted to join the union. The CNA will now now represent 300 Whittier Hospital RNs in contract negotiations.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has ended an 11-year legal dispute by agreeing to a $4.5 million settlement that includes $500,000 for indigent care to three hospitals.
The IRS has unveiled sweeping changes to the forms that all nonprofits must file detailing their finances, operations and community benefits. The reporting overhaul is a way of bringing more transparency and accountability to the nonprofit world. The changes affect more than 6,000 tax-exempt organizations that operate in southwestern Pennsylvania, the largest being the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital, a 25-bed facility in Manistique, MI, says it may close because of a dispute with the state over how long it allows some patients recovering from serious illness to stay. The hospital has filed a federal lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Community Health, as the department was fining the hospital $500,000 for violating state regulations.