Aetna has informed over 1,800 of its members that they may no longer have access to Boston Children's Hospital. The national insurer said that it is running into difficulties negotiating a new contract with the pediatric hospital. The current contract is set to expire on Feb. 15. The problem is mainly over rates for Children's and Women's Physicians of Westchester, New York, a 276-physician group that Boston Children's acquired in May. Aetna had a preexisting contract with the physicians' group prior to the Children's acquisition. Though that contract remains in place, Children's was using negotiations around its hospital contract with Aetna as leverage to increase the reimbursement rates in the physicians' contract.
Dr. Nabil El Sanadi, president and CEO of Broward Health and its chief of emergency medicine, shot and killed himself Saturday at his Lauderdale-by-the-Sea condominium building, the Broward Sheriff's Office said. Broward Health Board Chairman David DiPietro confirmed the death late Saturday. "We are deeply saddened by this devastating loss and our prayers go out to his family at this time," said a written release from Broward Health. El Sanadi, 60, had undergone a heart bypass surgery about 10 days ago, DiPietro confirmed. "He sounded great, for a guy who just had his chest surgically opened," Di Pietro said. "We talked about what we wanted for Broward Health."
Four years ago, Dr. Annie Brewster had a vision. Brewster, a Boston internist, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001, had become frustrated that a crucial element of medicine — the human connection between patients and doctors — seemed to be lost in the modern era of 15-minute appointments and overly burdensome record-keeping. As a patient and a doctor, Brewster yearned for a therapeutic arena in which patients could tell their full health stories and feel they were actually heard, not rushed out the door; and where doctors, as well, could share a little more with patients.
R. Clayton McWhorter, who as a veteran health care pioneer, businessman and philanthropist helped put Nashville on the map as a place for health care success, died Saturday night. He was 82. A giant known in the Nashville health care scene and across the nation in health system circles, Mr. McWhorter was a pivotal figure in establishing Nashville as a center for the health care industry. He joined HCA in 1970 and served in various roles until leading the company as CEO from 1985 to 1987, the same year he co-founded HealthTrust Inc., where he served as CEO until the merger with Columbia/HCA in 1995.
Butte is an old mining town tucked in the southwest corner of Montana with a population of about 34,000. Locals enjoy many things you can't find elsewhere—campgrounds a quick drive from downtown and gorgeous mountain ranges nearby. But in Butte, as in much of rural America, advanced medical care is absent. People in Butte who experience serious trauma or need specialty care rely on flights—air ambulances—to get them the help they need. There were close to 3,000 air ambulance flights in Montana last year. And Amy Thomson of Butte was on one of them.