Some who are closely watching Massachusetts are more candid about the state's health law—and they say it has some serious problems. The law's failure to rein in health care costs is widely acknowledged by nonpartisan analysts, as well as conservative critics. Emergency room use has gone up, not down—undermining the law's effort to get that problem under control by expanding coverage. Detractors in the Bay State also say the law has done little to dent the surging demand seen by the state's largest safety-net hospitals.
The political action committee of the American Hospital Association reported spending $968,000 on ads supporting Republican incumbent representatives in Louisiana, Washington, New York and Pennsylvania, all of whom sit on committees that oversee healthcare issues. The ads support Reps. Charles Boustany Jr. in Louisiana's 3rd District, Richard Hanna in New York's 22nd District, Tom Reed in New York?s 23rd District, Cathy McMorris Rodgers in Washington's 5th District and Jim Gerlach in Pennsylvania's 6th District.
Hospital operator Tenet Healthcare Corp. plans acquisitions, a new share repurchase program and a 4-to-1 reverse stock split to help speed up growth and improve the value of its stock for shareholders. Shares of the Dallas company jumped as much as 7.5 percent in Monday morning trading after it announced the plans, and ended trading up nearly 3.3 percent, or 21 cents, to close at $6.48 while broader trading indexes moved higher. The stock price has risen about 26 percent so far this year.
After about two decades in the front ranks of academic cancer research, the Vermont Cancer Center began the new century with its reputation intact. But warning signs soon emerged, followed by a downward trajectory that culminated nearly four years ago. That's when officials in the University of Vermont College of Medicine, where the center is housed, decided not to reapply to the National Cancer Institute for designation as a "comprehensive" cancer center. They concluded they couldn't make a credible case for meeting the institute's rigorous requirements for clinical, laboratory and other research.
In a letter sent last week to major national medical organizations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder stated: "There are troubling indications that some providers are using [EHR] technology to game the system, possibly to obtain payments to which they are not entitled." These accusations echo concerns I've had over the last year or so. That said, not all of the recent criticism heaped upon EHR vendors and buyers is justified. The Wall Street Journal critique, by Stephen Soumerai, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and Ross Koppel, from the University of Pennsylvania, doesn't tell the whole story.
Arizona is seeking federal approval to continue its Medicaid program for childless adults, which lawmakers capped last year to help balance the budget. Without a federal extension, the program will expire next year. At the same time, state Medicaid officials hope to convince the federal government that Arizona deserves additional funding to insure that group of low-income adults. The goal is to prevent thousands of Arizonans from getting kicked out of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state's Medicaid program, and to give Arizona policy makers additional incentive to expand government-paid insurance under federal healthcare reform.