A jury has awarded Garth Brooks $1 million in a civil dispute involving the country music entertainer and a naming-rights' promise he said was made by Integris Rural Health Inc., the largest health-care system in Oklahoma. In awarding the fraud claim, the jury of nine women and three men found that Integris acted in "reckless disregard" and "intentionally with malice toward others."
An influential U.S. senator is grilling officials in nearly three-dozen states, demanding to know how they are cracking down on physicians who prescribe massive amounts of potentially dangerous prescription drugs. Iowa Republican Charles Grassley sent letters to 34 states Monday asking what steps they had taken to investigate doctors whose prescribing of antipsychotics, anti-anxiety drugs and painkillers to Medicaid patients far exceeds that of their peers.
Chances are the Republicans—and a not-insignificant number of House Democratic allies—won't be able to kill the Independent Payment Advisory Board this year. But for another year or two, at least, politicians don't have to lift a finger to block the Medicare cost-control agency from doing anything. For another year or two, it doesn't have much to do. Or anyone to do it.
Leaders of the Jackson Health System and the University of Miami are developing a plan that will dramatically alter their sometimes testy relationship by creating a clear dividing line between UM doctors who work at Jackson and those who work for UM's own health enterprise. Under the plan, Jackson would "lease" some faculty doctors, paying the medical school for their salaries. Those doctors would work exclusively for Jackson, and Jackson would get any insurance payments made for their work.
Health insurance giant Highmark Inc. will spend up to $500 million to develop a new network of doctors, community hospitals and outpatient locations in Western Pennsylvania in addition to the $475 million it has promised to prop up West Penn Allegheny Health System, the Tribune-Review has learned. The network will include medical malls, ambulatory care centers, a health information exchange, partnerships with community hospitals and primary and specialty care centers, officials with the insurer said.
Erlanger Health System will likely continue to lose money for the next three months, as the public hospital's leaders work to bring down costs and increase their surgeries, hospital executives said Monday evening during a Budget and Finance Committee meeting. The hospital lost $3.9 million in December, bringing the total losses for the fiscal year to $10.3 million. The hospital is cutting costs and improving revenues but it will take some time for finances to improve, hospital leaders assured the committee.