The government's top health technology guru has stepped down from his role leading the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. When asked if Tony Trenkle, chief information officer and director of the office of Information Services, had been asked to step down after the technology problems with the new federal health exchange, an official refused to confirm or deny the possibility. "Tony made a decision that he was going to go to the private sector, and that is what our COO announced yesterday," said CMS spokeswoman Julie Bataille. "I don't have anything further to add."
President Obama used a campaign-style trip to Texas on Wednesday to rally liberals on his sputtering health care law, calling it a system of "universal health care" and calling out Texas Republicans for, he said, denying health insurance to 1 million state residents. For decades, liberals have dreamed of a "universal health care" system in America and Mr. Obama used that phrase, which he rarely does, in telling a group of volunteers that, under his leadership, it has become a reality.
U.S. health insurer Humana Inc on Wednesday said it expected earnings to decline next year because of spending on the new health exchanges and on the Medicaid program for the poor. Humana and its competitors began selling insurance plans to individuals on October 1 on state-based exchanges created under the national healthcare reform law. Those plans take effect in 2014. The company also has managed care contracts with some states for their Medicaid health plans. Humana said it expected 2014 earnings of $7.25 to $7.75 per share, including 50 cents to 90 cents in Medicaid and health exchange costs.
The rates hospitals can charge for care would remain flat for the first six months of 2014 amid uncertainty over hospitals' financial stability and proposed changes in how they are compensated, under a draft recommendation made by a state panel Wednesday. Maryland's hospital rate-setting agency typically sets the terms for hospitals' reimbursement on an annual basis, but took a more tentative approach because of the upheaval. Earlier this year, most state hospitals were given a 1.65 percent increase in rates for the first half of fiscal year 2014, which began in July, and the Health Services Cost Review Commission is suggesting that rates remain the same for the second half.
The percent of American families using retail clinics in the previous year nearly tripled between 2007 and 2010, from 1.2 percent of U.S. families to 2.9 percent, the study found. However, despite increased use, the study found overall utilization of the clinics remains modest. Ha T. Tu, a senior health researcher for the center and one of the study's co-authors, said one reason clinics haven't taken off is that patients who already have a primary care doctor don't see a need to visit one. The study found that the main reasons patients chose to use retail health clinics included the convenience of evening and weekend hours walk-in appointments and nearby locations.
Four months of campaign messages about the long-deferred needs of Jackson Health System and the urgency for the aging public hospital system to more effectively compete against South Florida's private and not-for-profit hospitals paid off Tuesday. Miami-Dade voters approved a referendum to raise their property taxes and fund $830 million in upgrades and new equipment and facilities for Jackson. The victory at the polls helps secure Jackson's long-term future in the face of declining reimbursements from state and federal government programs and the uncertainties of the Affordable Care Act, said Carlos Migoya, chief executive.