Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will testify before Congress today for the first time since taking the role of U.S. health secretary, and will face questions over the firing of thousands of health agency employees and a fast-growing measles outbreak.
The project plans to use an approach that would involve injecting people with a whole flu virus that has been killed with a chemical to render it harmless but is still capable of stimulating the immune system. Most vaccine experts consider the whole killed virus approach to be antiquated.
The closing of Crozer Health has highlighted a disturbing statewide trend of healthcare system acquisitions. At least 26 hospitals owned by nonprofits and for-profits have closed in Pennsylvania in the past five years, and 46 have changed owners.
CLEVELAND, Texas – A hospital in Cleveland has closed its doors. Texas Emergency Hospital put a sign on its door Monday. There is not a lot of information about the closure, but former employees say they are distraught about the closure. The hospital told employees the closure was due to rising operational costs and changes in reimbursement from payers and the unexpected decrease in the hospitals Medicaid interim rate.
Gov. Josh Shapiro highlighted a single type of owner for scrutiny — private equity, which he said "has infected our health care system" and treats Pennsylvania hospitals like "a piggy bank they can empty out and smash on the floor." A private equity-only approach would create a carve-out for the state's numerous and powerful nonprofit health systems, including UPMC, the state's largest private employer. These systems are represented by a powerful lobby that publicly opposed a proposal last session.
RENTON, Wash. — Valley Medical Center will close hospital units and clinics across south King County over the next two months and is planning for potential layoffs as it grapples with financial challenges. The hospital is operating at a loss of $25 million year-to-date, and that figure is growing. That combined with uncertainty from state and federal budgets and private sector reimbursements forced the hospital to scale back operations and restructure its workforce.