What if hospitals were run like a mix of Wal-Mart and a low-cost airline? The result might be something like the chain of "no-frills" Narayana Hrudayalaya clinics in southern India. Using pre-fabricated buildings, stripping out air-conditioning and even training visitors to help with post-operative care, the group believes it can cut the cost of heart surgery to an astonishing 800 dollars. "Today healthcare has got phenomenal services to offer. Almost every disease can be cured and if you can't cure patients, you can give them meaningful life," says company founder Devi Shetty, one of the world's most famous heart surgeons.
Five hospital systems want to see the state Department of Insurance consider their interests in deciding whether to approve the acquisition of the West Penn Allegheny Health System by health insurer Highmark Inc. The five so-called bridge hospitals, which employ more than 15,000 people in a five-county area, expressed concern in a letter Friday about projections that WPAHS will draw patients away from their facilities at a time when admissions throughout the region are off and hospitals are struggling with declining Medicare reimbursement.
Former patients have sued Glens Falls Hospital and a medical records contractor after their records were stored on an unsecured computer server. Portal Healthcare Solutions and the Glens Falls, NY hospital face a lawsuit filed by two of the 2,300 patients whose records were stored on an unsecure system for several months, according to a report by the Post Star.
Nearly 26 million people will be eligible for tax credits next year to help them purchase health insurance through ObamaCare's new state marketplaces, according to a new study. The figures from liberal advocacy group Families USA shed light on the future reach of one of healthcare reform's central provisions. The subsidies are designed to make health insurance affordable for less wealthy individuals and families. Most people will be required to have coverage starting next year or face fines.
New York City will seek a new provider for its $6 billion health-insurance plan that would require workers to pay premiums for the first time, with discounts for participating in wellness programs, Deputy Mayor Caswell Holloway said. The proposal, which requires approval by unions, would save about $400 million a year, Holloway said. Contracts have expired with all 300,000 city employees, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said any deal must require workers to start paying for health coverage, a cost Holloway said may rise 32 percent to $8.3 billion by 2018. The city reserved 1.25 percent pay raises in its $70.1 billion budget for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1.
Dr. Hemanth Rao, a Charlotte neurologist, has agreed to pay more than $2 million to the federal government to settle civil fraud allegations in connection with administration of intravenous therapy. Rao is owner of the Neurological Institute in Charlotte, formerly known as Neurological Consultants of the Carolinas. The group has four offices, in Charlotte and Monroe. The settlement was reached following a multiyear investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Investigators found that, from Oct. 13, 2003, to May 26, 2006, Rao failed to meet Medicare regulations requiring physician supervision of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy, according to a statement from Anne Tompkins, U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.