Change never comes easily to Florida's prison system. It has been more than a year since the Legislature ordered the agency to privatize inmate healthcare to save money, the largest project of its kind ever attempted in the U.S. After months of bureaucratic red tape, Corrections Secretary Ken Tucker approved hiring two for-profit companies to provide healthcare for the next five years. The first-year cost: $359 million. Corizon Health would treat inmates in north and central Florida; Wexford Health Sources would manage inmate medical care in South Florida. Firms can't start work until the action is ratified by a panel of legislators, which has no meetings scheduled.
In coming years, patients in Washington state were going to see changes in health care—with or without the federal Affordable Care Act, now the law of the land. Long before the bitter debate over the federal law, most of which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, local healthcare leaders realized spiraling costs were putting health care out of reach for many businesses and individuals, as well as threatening the spending power of local governments. Healthcare costs now consume nearly a third of the state budget in Washington. Determined to reverse course, hospital CEOs, clinic administrators and physician groups have been doggedly pursuing ways to lower costs by changing the incentives that drive the healthcare industry.
There's a reason Epic Systems Corp. keeps building offices: The Verona electronic medical records company keeps signing major clients. As Epic hurtles toward the top, some are questioning whether the type of technology Epic and its rivals offer may be stifling innovation in healthcare and keeping medical costs high. On the down side, customers have complained to KLAS about Epic's "young, inexperienced staff with limited health care knowledge and ... up-front cost of the system is seen as prohibitively high for health systems with fewer financial resources." Epic does not make announcements about the clients it lands. It also doesn't disclose the cost of its systems. But recent stories in campus publications remove some of the mystery.
Ardis Hoven is an HIV specialist-based in Lexington, Ky. who, last month, was elected president of the American Medical Association. Earlier this week, she learned of the Supreme Court decision. Hoven was happy to see the news: The AMA has long supported the Affordable Care, even though doctors look to be split in their opinion of the law. While the law will take big steps toward expanding insurance coverage, Hoven cautions there are still big challenges for doctors ahead. We spoke Friday about the country's shortage of doctors, how she and others will "teach" new patients to use their health insurance and what role physicians play in team-based healthcare.
Health officials are now reviewing a consultant's report to decide how—and whether—Alaska should develop a Health Insurance Exchange, as required by the federal act. Alaska gained notoriety last year when it rejected federal planning funds for the creation of an exchange intended as an electronic marketplace for purchasing the new insurance that will be available as part of the act. A consultant working for the state has developed a report for the department on which it will likely base its decision on whether or not to proceed. Streur said that while an insurance exchange must be developed, it doesn’t say that Alaska itself must do it.
Local healthcare providers in Madison County say it may take several years to see exactly how the Affordable Care Act will affect the area, but they are preparing for the changes. Some are already benefiting from the law, but other providers fear they may have to offer some services at a loss in the future. Jill Williams, spokesperson for Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center, said the impact of ACA on the hospital will be not entirely beneficial. Williams is referring to reductions in the Medicare and Medicaid Disproportionate Share payments. The ACA aims to reduce these payments by as much as 75 percent, according to the National Association of Urban Hospitals.