The board that runs Jackson Health System on Monday voted to ask Miami-Dade commissioners to call a special election in November asking voters to approve an $830 million bond to pay for renovations and equipment upgrades at the taxpayer-owned hospital system. The request from the Public Health Trust that runs Jackson came as something of a surprise, since it was not on the agenda prior to the meeting, but was added at the last minute by Darryl Sharpton, the board's newly appointed chairman.
RALEIGH, N.C. -- When Lauren Heath learned she had to spend an extra day in Rex Hospital after delivering her baby girl in May, she wasn't complaining. "It means I get three more, really good meals," said Heath, 29, of Wake Forest, N.C. "The food is amazing." Instead of mystery meat and Jell-O, she enjoyed banana-nut pancakes, Caribbean grilled chicken salad, Philly-style cheesesteaks, orzo salad and baked potato wedges. With an extra day?s stay, she was looking forward to trying the hospital?s lime and ginger-glazed salmon. The food was so good that even her out-of-town mom decided to have her meals brought from the hospital cafeteria.
Obamacare hit a pretty important milestone this weekend: The law is now 100 days away from its main provisions coming into effect. That means the administration is pretty much in an all-out sprint to set up an infrastructure by which millions of Americans will soon purchase insurance coverage. It's hard to understate the enormity of the task at hand for the Obama administration. It will be orchestrating the largest expansion of private health insurance in the country's history. That means there's a huge amount of work to be done over the next few months. There are at least 99 things that need to happen between now and October, and I've got a list to prove it.
At the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange in Carson City, Nev., workers have been counting down the days until Oct. 1 on an office corkboard. Sunday is a big milestone --- 100 days to the deadline for opening the online marketplaces that are a linchpin of the federal health law known as Obamacare. "We certainly will need every one of the days that we have left," said Jon Hager, executive director of the Nevada exchange. "But I am confident we will be ready to go." Nevada is one of 15 states racing to launch their own marketplaces where consumers can compare plans' prices and benefits, and find out if they are eligible for a federal subsidy or Medicaid. The other states are relying on the federal government.
Tenet Healthcare is buying Vanguard Health Systems for about $1.8 billion, helping to expand its service offerings and broaden its geographic reach. The companies said Monday that the transaction also includes $2.5 billion in debt and value the entire deal at $4.3 billion. Tenet will pay $21 per share, a 70 percent premium to Vanguard Health's Friday closing price of $12.37. Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanguard Health says its founder, Chairman and CEO Charlie Martin, will join Tenet's board.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One morning last month, a health clinic next to a scruffy strip mall here had an unlikely visitor: a man in a suit and tie, seeking to bring a dose of M.B.A. order to the operation. A dozen clinic employees, who spend intense, chaotic days treating an unending stream of Louisville's poor and uninsured, stared stonily at handouts he had brought as he made his pitch. The visitor was Danny DuBosque, a "coach" hired to help the nonprofit clinic adapt to the demands of the federal health care overhaul. He had come to discuss a new appointment system, one that will let patients see a doctor or nurse within a few days of calling, instead of weeks or months.