As Connecticut's healthcare industry experiments with new models of care, getting everyone to buy into the changes isn't always easy. The contractual model hit the market in 2010, but CJRI didn't get its first contract inked until a few months ago when Farmington insurer ConnectiCare agreed to a deal. CJRI's experience is an example of how challenging—and slow—implementing changes to a health care system can be. The bundled payment arrangement established by CJRI—called the Step Ahead Plan—is a collaborative effort among St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, The Connecticut Joint Replacement Surgeons, and Woodland Anesthesiology Associates. As part of an integrated continuum of care, all three providers are responsible for guiding patients through the entire hip and knee replacement surgery until they are discharged from the hospital.
Community hospitals in Tennessee are being bypassed frequently by those who live closest to them, as many residents instead seek care at larger facilities in more populated areas, a study by the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Institute found. "In simple terms, almost half of the people in rural areas are not using the hospital closest to them, preferring to go to a larger, non-rural hospital to get care, even if the same services are available locally," states the issue brief, entitled Patterns of Care in Tennessee: Use of rural vs. non-rural facilities. The BCBST Health Institute, formed in 2011, has released previous studies showing that the state faces a potential healthcare capacity crisis in the near future, so a logical next step was to examine actual patterns of care, according to Dr. Steven Coulter, president of the Institute.
Yale-New Haven Hospital is acquiring the Hospital of Saint Raphael, making it one of the largest hospitals in the country. Yale-New Haven will add 511 beds for a total of 1,519 beds and more than 12,000 employees. The hospitals tried to minimize job losses by keeping vacant positions open, but about 200 positions will be eliminated, officials said. The $160 million deal, which has received regulatory approval, will provide Yale-New Haven with the additional capacity it needs to meet current patient demand while providing financial stability at the Hospital of Saint Raphael campus, officials said.
Care New England, Rhode Island’s second largest hospital network, and Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island announced Monday morning that they have signed a letter of intent, reaffirming the benefits of a new partnership. Exclusive discussions between the two nonprofit hospital entities began in June, with the goal of exploring the creation of an integrated delivery network as the business model for healthcare shifts toward a population-based, global payment system. The letter of intent was approved unanimously by both boards and signed by Dennis D. Keefe, president and CEO of Care New England and Arthur DeBlois III, interim president and CEO of Memorial Hospital.
Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, said he would keep health insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions even as he vows to replace President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law on the first day of his presidency. "I'm not getting rid of all of health-care reform. Of course there are a number of things that I like in health-care reform that I'm going to put in place," Romney said on NBC’s "Meet the Press." "One is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage."
Although the law has failed to cut medical debt, some analysts say it may have prevented an increase in Massachusetts. Of more than 3,000 Massachusetts adults surveyed in fall 2010—the most recent survey data available—17.5 percent reported having problems paying medical bills in the previous year. Twenty percent said they were carrying medical debt and paying it over time. Those figures changed slightly from 2006, but researchers said the difference was not statistically significant. The figures are from a report released earlier this year by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation.