On September 8, Floridians will get details about the "Cover Florida program"—a state plan designed to improve access to healthcare for about 4 million uninsured adults in the state. Nine companies submitted proposals in August for the program, and the state will choose a statewide provider from among Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Celtic Insurance, JMH Health, Medica Health, Total Health Choice, American Management Advisors, United Health Care, Florida Health Care, and Universal Healthcare. Under the terms of Cover Florida, insurers would offer low-cost coverage to Floridians between ages 19 and 64 who had been uninsured for at least six months. Unemployed Floridians are expected to be able to access the plan sooner.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is seeking information from the nonprofit University of Chicago Medical Center about jobs held by Sen. Barack Obama's wife and one of the senator's best friends. Grassley sent the center a letter saying he was "troubled" by recent news reports about the hospital's efforts to steer patients with non-urgent complaints away from the center's emergency room to local clinics. Michelle Obama was a key figure behind the initiative. The medical center said in a statement that it was working on a response to the letter.
Hospitals are turning to an antibiotic SWAT team to win the war against "superbugs." The efforts are known as antimicrobial stewardship programs, and team top pharmacists, infectious-disease specialists, and microbiologists. The groups monitor the use of a hospital's antibiotics and restrict prescriptions of specific drugs when they become less effective at fighting infections. The hospital programs come as legislation is pending in Congress to create a federal office of antimicrobial resistance and a public-health network to help detect emerging resistant strains of bacteria before they become a national threat.
Nine Georgia hospitals rated worse than national norms on death rates for pneumonia or heart failure, a higher number than all states but California. The Hospital Compare Web site run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shows 80 U.S. hospitals listed as top performers in the mortality rates for patients admitted with heart attack, heart failure, or pneumonia. No Georgia hospitals were among the best performers. Nationwide, 103 hospitals, including the nine Georgia hospitals, were rated worse than the national average for one or more conditions. Eight of the nine in Georgia were poor performers in pneumonia.
Sutter Roseville Medical Center in Roseville, CA, has opened a new $11.9 million intensive care unit for newborn babies. The neonatal intensive care unit has 16 beds and the most up-to-date equipment to handle emergencies for the sickest of infants, said hospital officials. The facility is located on the lower level of the hospital, and will be able to expand by 14 beds if the hospital desires.
Registered nurses of the UW Medical Center are picketing at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. Union officials say contract negotiations with the school have stalled. Sticking points in the negotiations include a reduction in rest between nurses' shifts, a 4% pay hike over the next two years that the union says is not competitive, and changes in the amount of time the nurses can take off to care for sick family members.