SHREVEPORT, La. — More than 2,300 employees at LSU hospitals in Shreveport and Monroe can start applying for jobs with the hospitals' new operator starting Aug. 5 Biomedical Research Foundation Hospital Holding Co. will take over management of the former public hospitals Oct. 1. That nonprofit, a subsidiary of Biomedical Research Foundation in Shreveport, will provide pay and benefits to hospital employees. Gov. Bobby Jindal turned to LSU hospital privatization after Louisiana faced a drop in its federal Medicaid financing rate, which meant the state gets fewer federal matching dollars for every state dollar it puts up.
INDIANAPOLIS -- In the raging federal health care debate, numbers are turning out to be some of the most partisan tools available to Democrats, Republicans and everyone with a stake in the game. Indiana residents have gotten a rare look at the spinning of statistics and price tags that happens regularly in government as Gov. Mike Pence's point man on federal health care estimated that residents would pay 72 percent more for health insurance through the insurance exchange being built. That, of course, is an incredible simplification of an incredibly complex topic, something Democratic supporters of President Barack Obama's signature legislation pointed out shortly afterward and followed with some spin of their own.
An Indiana jury Friday awarded a woman $1.44 million after finding Walgreens and a pharmacist violated her privacy when the pharmacist looked up and shared the woman’s prescription history. The lawsuit filed in Marion Superior Court spun out of a tangled relationship between the pharmacist, her husband and the man’s ex-girlfriend. The verdict and seven-figure award came at the conclusion of a four-day jury trial. "As a provider of pharmaceutical service, defendant Walgreens Co. owes a non-delegable duty to its customers to protect their privacy and confidentiality of its customers' pharmaceutical information and prescription histories," the woman's attorney claimed in the lawsuit.
A growing group of congressional Republicans is pushing leaders to defund ObamaCare in the next government spending bill, setting the stage for a showdown in September, when the current continuing resolution expires. Twelve Senate Republicans sent a letter Thursday to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declaring they would not support a government funding bill unless it excludes funds for the healthcare law. And 66 House Republicans, more than one quarter of the conference, have signed on to a similar letter from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) urging Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) not to allow votes on a government funding bill unless it chokes off money for the Affordable Care Act.
For years, Kaiser Permanente has won accolades for delivering high-quality care at an affordable price. The Oakland company's unique HMO model kept a lid on costs, and big employers flocked to enroll their workers to the point that Kaiser has become the largest health plan in California, grabbing more than 40% of the market. Now, some of Kaiser's biggest customers are complaining that the company is no longer a bargain and, even worse, standing in the way of controlling healthcare costs. Critics say the company is so entrenched in the workplace that it refuses to negotiate rates or to fully explain why its premiums keep rising.
When the state-based insurance exchanges open next year under Obamacare, many Americans should finally have access to affordable insurance. But millions of others will most likely be left out in the cold and remain uninsured. These folks -- mainly low-income adults in the 21 states that aren't expanding Medicaid -- will not be eligible for either the long-standing government health insurance program for the poor, or for premium subsidies in the new exchanges. Some 4.9 million people will not be covered in 2016 if these states don't expand, according to the Urban Institute. Another 1.5 million uninsured are in six states that are considering expansion, but have yet to approve it.