For anyone who thinks it's a shame the state drove out a hospital company that was willing to invest more than $400 million here, all might not be lost. A top Tenet Healthcare executive, point man in the Dallas-based chain's effort to take over five Connecticut hospitals, will return to the state late this week or early next week to have a talk with Senate leaders. It's not new negotiations, it's just a conversation. But it's something, and that's better than nothing if it helps revive a deal that could make sense for Connecticut's ailing collection of hospitals.
Flu is widespread in 43 U.S. states, up from 36 states in the prior week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Monday. Six children died from the flu during the last full week in December, bringing the total flu deaths to 21 this season, the report showed. Last week the CDC reported for the first time that deaths from flu and pneumonia reached an epidemic level, comprising 6.8 percent of all deaths. That figure slipped slightly below the epidemic level in this week's report, the CDC said.
Score one for the insurance companies. Hospital report cards have apparently "blunted" price hikes for certain heart procedures, a new study finds. The reports, a Medicare initiative called Hospital Compare, apparently gave insurers "leverage" to negotiate better prices with hospitals, while also "adding competitive pressures" on those same hospitals, according to the study, which was led by George Washington University professor Avi Dor. "The policy implications are that a report card can help hold down the cost of medical care," says Dor, who studies health policy and economics. Since Hospital Compare was implemented in 2005, researchers have studied its impact on patient mortality and how people chose their hospitals.
About two years ago, journalist Steven Brill offered a blockbuster story in Time Magazine on why Americans' medical bills are so high. He's now followed that up with a new book released Monday explaining why he doesn't believe Obamacare will change that. Brill's book, "America's Bitter Pill," details the backroom deals that allowed the Affordable Care Act to become law, why HealthCare.gov was such a mess when it launched in October, and why he believes the law won't do anything to keep health care costs from running wild. His assessment: the deals Democrats struck with industry to get the law passed ensured that the flawed system would remain intact.
Compared with other ambulatory practice staff, physicians are more pessimistic about whether their practices will be able to address challenges related to the implementation of electronic health records under the meaningful use program, according to a study published in BMC Medical Informatics & Decision Making, EHR Intelligence reports. Physicians also expressed less willingness to change their work habits to meet the requirements of the program. Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHRs can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments
Some good news for Medicare beneficiaries to start the New Year: The wait time for hearings of Medicare appeals has been cut by more than half. Every year, Medicare denies millions of claims, leaving beneficiaries with billions of dollars in unexpected bills. Such decisions can be appealed, but the process—which has five levels, in all—can be complicated and time-consuming. (The exact procedure to follow differs, depending on whether you are enrolled in original fee-for-service Medicare, a private Medicare Advantage plan or a Part D prescription-drug plan. Doctors, hospitals and other health-care providers may also appeal denied claims.)