Three of the largest U.S. medical organizations threw their weight behind new federal guidelines that reject mass quarantines for healthcare workers returning from Ebola-ravaged countries. In a joint statement, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association said the guidance strikes the right balance between protecting public health and ensuring healthcare workers are not "unduly" burdened. "This guidance is based on the best available scientific evidence and provides essential information to public health authorities, state governments, hospitals, clinicians and other health care workers about the appropriate monitoring of individuals who may have been exposed or have had direct contact with a symptomatic person diagnosed with Ebola," the groups said Tuesday.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, seeking to avoid the public criticism over stringent and still-shifting Ebola quarantine policies that has buffeted his counterparts in New York and New Jersey, affirmed a case-by-case approach to quarantines this week that he positioned as a middle path between federal guidelines and more onerous state policies. But such reassurances have not quelled public opposition, with some people concerned that an ad hoc system exposes travelers to abusive treatment. Connecticut's policy, which has been in effect since Mr. Malloy issued an order on Oct. 7 authorizing the state health commissioner to quarantine travelers, has already been invoked to confine nine people to their homes, though one of those orders was rescinded on Monday.
Ultimate Health Plans, a scrappy little company north of Tampa, is offering Medicare HMO deals that sound too good to be true: no premium, no deductible, free gym membership and even cash back. What's not to like? Ask the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, which suspects the company lacks sufficient funds to pay claims for its 3,000 members. OIR issued a suspension order Oct. 2, but it was placed on hold when Ultimate invoked its right to a hearing. It can take months, sometimes years, for the hearing process to unfold. Meanwhile, Ultimate is signing up new Medicare members in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties for 2015 during open enrollment, which began Oct. 15 and lasts until Dec. 7.
Mercy Health System, which operates a 65-bed hospital in Harvard and health care facilities in Woodstock, plans to merge with Rockford Health System to create a larger, more efficient system. The new health system, which doesn't yet have a name, would continue to pursue building a hospital in Crystal Lake despite past failures, said Javon Bea, Mercy Health System's president and CEO. The merger, which must be approved by the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, won't affect operations at Mercy Harvard Hospital or Mercy Woodstock Medical Center. "We don't anticipate any changes to those facilities," Bea said Tuesday.
It isn't often that insurers and hospitals come together on an issue involving payments, but that's what seems to be happening in reaction to a new study being funded by the state's Department of Financial Services. Both groups worry that this project, which aims to add transparency to contract process between private hospitals and private insurance companies, could reveal proprietary information, and produce results that will be taken out of context. "We're very concerned that the study's narrow focus would lead to faulty, incomplete conclusions," said Kathleen Shure, senior vice president at the Greater New York Hospital Association.
The Woodlands is becoming home to a bustling medical center. Soon the area will have two new hospital campuses - giving area residents the option of forgoing the drive downtown to meet their medical needs. Long-standing Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital and St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital will be joined by Houston Methodist and Texas Children's Hospital, both scheduled to open next year. Gil Staley, CEO of The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership, said health care is one of the fastest growing sectors in the local economy. "It's all because of the rapid growth in the area," he said. "With job growth, two sectors come - health care and education. Anytime you have a surge in population those two services step up."