Nurses who are trained as anesthetists do not need a doctor's supervision to give anesthetics to California hospital patients, the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco ruled Thursday. The decision by was particularly important for rural areas, where nurses commonly administer anesthesia in hospitals, under a doctor's orders but without in-person supervision. The ruling allows that practice to continue. Federal law denies Medicare reimbursements to hospitals that allow nurses to give anesthesia without supervision, but allows a state's governor to opt out. California is one of 16 states to opt out, an action taken by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in June 2009 and supported by his successor, Jerry Brown.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Thursday that it will not initiate enforcement action for an additional three months, through June 30, 2012, against any covered entity that is required to comply with the updated transactions standards adopted under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
When hospitals are short on beds in the intensive care unit, doctors are more likely to switch from life-saving care to end-of-life care, a new Canadian study shows. But it's not clear whether that means patients die any sooner, researchers report in the Archives of Internal Medicine. In the new study, Dr. Henry Stelfox at the University of Calgary found the emergency team was called much less often when there weren't any free ICU beds compared with when at least three were available.
Home healthcare companies made an average 19.4% profit in 2010, a report released Thursday shows, prompting MedPAC to again ask Congress to lower reimbursement rates for these companies. The home healthcare industry is fighting a proposed law that would require them to pay employees minimum wage and overtime. Mark Miller, MedPAC's executive director, said the board expects the industry to see a 19.8% profit margin in 2013 from Medicare.
The FBI says Pamela Davis' help was invaluable in an investigation that eventually collected enough evidence to charge and lead to the conviction of former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who reported to prison Thursday for corruption. Davis is CEO of Edward Hospital and Health Services in Naperville. Davis was the first to blow the whistle on alleged kickbacks involving a state board with the power to approve and deny hospital projects.
Now, as state lawmakers prepare a bill that will limit healthcare cost increases, they have to decide by how much. Two major groups in Massachusetts are urging the legislature to set an aggressive goal. Associated Industries of Massachusetts and the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization say the state's healthcare spending goal should be gross state product (GSP). Groups of hospitals and insurers want a less aggressive goal.