A senior administration official said late Sunday that work is underway on new guidelines for healthcare workers returning from Ebola-ravaged areas. The official said the administration is working to develop guidelines that will protect Americans and enable workers to tackle the epidemic in West Africa. "We have been taking a close look at policies for returning healthcare workers, recognizing that these medical professionals' selfless efforts to fight this disease on the frontlines will be critical to bringing this epidemic under control, the only way to eliminate the risk of additional cases here at home," the official said.
A nurse who is currently quarantined in New Jersey after volunteering for Doctors Without Borders in West Africa is speaking out against her treatment. In an op-ed for The Dallas Morning News, Kaci Hickox, who tested negative for the virus, painted a picture of disorganization from the authorities that quarantined her, and said she was treated as though she were a criminal. "I am scared about how health care workers will be treated at airports when they declare that they have been fighting Ebola in West Africa. I am scared that, like me, they will arrive and see a frenzy of disorganization, fear and, most frightening, quarantine."
Leo Boudreau of Massachusetts was thrilled to find a psychologist in his insurance network to treat his teenage daughter for emotional stress related to a medical condition. The therapist worked out of a local hospital. But he was surprised when the bill for each visit contained two charges: the approximately $100 he expected to see for the therapist — and a similar fee for the room, which was not covered. "How could it be that the doctor was in network and the hospital was in network, but I had to pay separately for the room?" Mr. Boudreau said.
With health insurance marketplaces about to open for 2015 enrollment, the Obama administration has told insurance companies that it will delay requirements for them to disclose data on the number of people enrolled, the number of claims denied and the costs to consumers for specific services. For months, insurers have been asking the administration if they had to comply with two sections of the Affordable Care Act that require "transparency in coverage." In a bulletin sent to insurers last week, the administration said, "We do not intend to enforce the transparency requirements until we provide further guidance." Administration officials said the government and insurers needed more time to collect and analyze the data.
Gary Gottlieb said Friday that he will step down next year as chief executive of Partners HealthCare, which is facing stiff opposition to expansion plans that would give the state's largest hospital system even more clout. Gottlieb, who has held the job for five years, will leave in July 2015 to become the chief executive of Partners in Health, the Boston-based nonprofit that provides medical care in Haiti and other impoverished countries. The Partners HealthCare network comprises 10 hospitals, including Brigham and Women's and Massachusetts General hospitals in Boston, and more than 6,000 physicians. It is separate from Partners in Health.
Critics of the 2010 Affordable Care Act complain that it doesn't do much to control the healthcare costs that are becoming unsustainable for families and businesses. In fact, the law does many small things; the latest is the grant program announced last week to teach Medicare and Medicaid doctors new ways to offer higher-quality, better-coordinated, more cost-effective care. The four-year goal is to turn $840 million in grants into $5 billion in savings — a number that sounds big until it's compared with the nearly $4 trillion in annual healthcare spending in the United States.