Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has announced he is probably going to allow doctors to put off payments to the state's medical-malpractice insurance fund as lawmakers work on legislation to extend a state subsidy that lowers those bills. The subsidy, which helps doctors pay for supplemental medical-malpractice insurance through a state-run fund, will end after Dec. 31, 2007 because no legislation has been passed to continue it.
The New Jersey legislature has passed the Safe Patient Handling Act, a bill meant to reduce injuries to hospital and nursing home employees and patients. The bill requires the healthcare facilities to develop plans to minimize manual lifting by employees.
Middle Tennessee Medical Center has received a final stamp of approval and a $10 million pledge construction of a new hospital. The hospital will break ground on the $268 million, 560,000-square-foot project in early 2008, and it is scheduled for completion by 2010.
HealthSouth Corp. and one of the nation's most prominent orthopedic surgeons have greed to pay almost $15 million to settle civil claims over what the government said was an illegal kickback scheme.
Sante Health Ventures, with offices in Austin, Texas, and Brentwood, TN, has completed raising $130 million from investors, with plans to target the healthcare industry.
HealthReach, a free medical clinic in Lake County, IL, has renovated its Mundelein location. The clinic has more than doubled its capacity to serve patients by adding medical and dental exam rooms and a clinical laboratory to the small facility in a mini-mall.