Representatives of New Hampshire's major hospitals fought a proposal that could pave the way for a for-profit cancer facility to come to the state at a hearing Tuesday that was notable for the absence of the company that was the impetus for the legislation: Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). The bill would create a special "destination cancer hospital" classification, which would be exempt from the state's Certification of Need review process for new hospitals, as well as the Medicaid Enhancement Tax on the grounds that it wouldn't accept Medicaid patients.
A document about Steward Health Care System shows rough plans for Landmark Medical Center if Steward eventually gets permission to buy the struggling Woonsocket, RI hospital. The document is an application sent to the Department of Health's "Office of Health Systems Development".
Louisiana's health chief Bruce Greenstein on Tuesday blasted LSU for "irresponsible" cuts to its hospital operations and lack of planning to offset their impact. Greenstein also said LSU overspending—not Gov. Bobby Jindal's midyear budget cuts—is responsible for the reductions. "They got their budget and a whole lot more money," Greenstein said. "They were spending at a rate that would have put them above it." LSU's top officials refused Tuesday to respond to Greenstein's accusations.
Atlanta Medical Center and financially ailing South Fulton Medical Center announced Wednesday that they will seek state permission to consolidate the two hospitals. Both hospitals are owned by the Tenet Healthcare Corp. The 338-bed South Fulton Medical Center in East Point has been losing millions of dollars annually in recent years, according to reports filed with the state.
If you think Pittsburgh's health insurance landscape has changed dramatically in the last year, you ain't seen nothing yet, according to six of the region's top insurance executives. Expect more friction between physicians and health plans as insurers try to wring what they call unnecessary procedures, scans and surgeries out of the system.
The ousted CEO of beleaguered Wyckoff Heights Medical Center had the hospital buy a $33,000 stretch limo for his use and expensed multiple $300 staff dinners, the man brought in to replace him revealed. "My predecessor spent an enormous amount of money," Ramon Rodriguez, interim CEO of the debt-burdened Bushwick hospital, told the Daily News Wednesday.