Prospect Medical Holdings' road to bankruptcy has eerie similarities to that of Steward Health, another multistate hospital chain formerly owned by private equity. The parallels — down to the way both chains sold the real estate under their hospitals to the same company and leased it back — raise questions about whether the bankruptcies were the result of bad management or what critics allege is private equity's rush to enrich itself at patients' expense.
This winter's wave of norovirus infections has reached levels that are now more than double last season's peak, the CDC says. Nearly 28% of norovirus tests run over the week of the New Year's holiday came back positive for the highly contagious virus. That is more than double the 13.52% of tests coming back positive reached during the peak of last season's wave in March, according to data from public health laboratories around the country tallied by the CDC.
The allegations are contained in a malpractice lawsuit filed by the wife of John Michael Murdoch against Oregon Health and Science University. The lawsuit maintains Murdoch's ordeal unfolded as he was undergoing surgery in 2022 while being treated for squamous cell carcinoma on his tongue. Medical staff failed to let alcohol swabbed on his face dry properly, and his face ignited, according to the lawsuit.
Bankrupt hospital chain Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. won court permission to start drawing from its $100 million Chapter 11 financing despite a challenge from landlord Medical Properties Trust Inc. Judge Stacey G.C. Jernigan said late Tuesday she'd authorized Prospect's request after company advisers testified that the hospital operator's cash dwindled to about $3 million before filing for protection on Jan. 11. MPT challenged the financing, saying it improperly puts the new debt ahead of its liens.
The intention behind the federal program was for a small number of safety-net providers to have access to affordable drugs and be able to expand their care for needy patients. But instead, the program has exploded: Now, more than half of nonprofit hospitals in the United States take part. While some providers say it has helped keep their doors open, others — especially large nonprofit health systems — have been accused of maximizing payouts and swallowing the profits.
President-elect Trump's threat to tariff Denmark if it resists his acquisition plans for the island territory of Greenland could disrupt one export that is wildly popular in America: Ozempic. ... Danish multinational pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk is the sole owner of semaglutide, the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy. A month's supply of Ozempic is close to $1,000 without insurance, though manufacturer coupons and patient assistance programs are available. Novo Nordisk was estimated to be responsible for half of Denmark's gross domestic product growth in 2024.