Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina wrongfully allowed policyholders to be charged higher rates for medical services after they received their maximum benefits, according to a lawsuit that recently won class action status. The court ruling in the nearly 3-year-old suit paves the way for thousands of policyholders to seek claims against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, say attorneys. The lawsuit accuses Blue Cross of breach of contract, breach of good faith, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.
In 2007, New Orleans and Louisiana leaders pulled together a plan to commandeer land in a historic but struggling neighborhood on the edge of the Central Business District and offer it to the federal government as a place to build a veterans hospital. But the people who stand to be displaced have pressed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to consider other locations that would not require the demolition of traditional shotgun houses and other historic landmarks. Two senior VA officials have now reiterated the agency's preference for building in downtown New Orleans, where veterans would benefit from proximity to the planned Louisiana State University teaching hospital and the city's two medical schools, which would regularly send faculty and residents to help treat the VA's patients.
The Tulane Community Health Center, a new primary medical care center for adults and geriatric patients, will open soon in eastern New Orleans. The center will have six examination rooms and will be staffed by a doctor, a licensed nurse practitioner, and supporting office workers. The clinic is expected to handle 500 patient visits every month.
A review of state and federal records shows that dozens of Iowa healthcare workers have been disciplined by their employers for snooping through the medical records of HIV-positive men, pregnant teenagers, victims of domestic violence, and emergency-room patients. Not one of them, however, has been prosecuted for violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. In the five years since the law was enacted, 38,000 Americans have complained of HIPAA violations to the federal Office for Civil Rights. More than half of those complaints nationally have been disposed of with no investigation, and until last year no one nationally ever was prosecuted for violating HIPAA.
Three contenders for 41 new hospital beds in Wake County, NC, announced they were filing plans to build new facilities. Novant Health announced that it wanted to build a $110 million community hospital in Holly Springs. WakeMed has filed plans for a $34 million, 61-bed women's hospital on its North Raleigh campus. Rex Healthcare, the third contender, submitted a request for beds to be added on its Raleigh campus.
Although Democratic healthcare proposals may have gotten more attention during the primaries, Republican John McCain's plan might be more revolutionary. McCain wants to tax workers on the value of the insurance they receive from employers, and offer everyone a federal tax credit to help them pay for insurance. The goal, McCain said, is to give those without company-provided health insurance the same tax advantages as those with coverage through work. It would also encourage individuals to shop for less expensive insurance and push prices down, say supporters.