Marc Boom took over as chief executive officer of The Methodist Hospital System earlier this month, the first physician to run the show in almost 100 years. That background could come in handy as he helps the five-hospital system, its research institute and other programs navigate the future, and the 45-year-old Boom predicts Methodist will do well in an era of health care reform. He said Methodist is on track to join the nation's top academic health centers, on par with Massachusetts General Hospital or Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The financial performance of UMass Memorial Health Care Inc., the largest employer in Central Massachusetts, fell well below expectations in its recent fiscal year, raising the possibility of layoffs and cost-cutting in 2012. John G. O'Brien, the system's CEO and president, acknowledged that the results have him and his executive team analyzing the business model, a process that could include the elimination of some full-time positions, shedding of some ventures and pursuing changes to employee pension plans.
Fresh off raising $68 million in a public offering, Acadia Healthcare Co. has agreed to acquire three psychiatric hospitals from Haven Behavioral Healthcare. The deal covers in-patient facilities in three states for a total price of $91 million in cash. The hospitals located in Tucson, AZ, Wichita Falls, TX, and Ada, OK, have 166 acute inpatient psychiatric beds. Combined revenues were roughly $43 million for the 12 months through Sept. 30.
Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare in Louisville and Lexington-based Saint Joseph Health System announced Friday that the health care groups would merge to create Kentucky's largest health system. The partnership is retroactive to Jan. 1. It was initially to have included University of Louisville Hospital, but Gov. Steve Beshear denied that request last week, calling the hospital a public asset that should not be controlled by the private sector. The new umbrella organization will be known as KentuckyOne Health, although each hospital will retain its current name.
Insurance companies spent millions of dollars trying to defeat the U.S. health-care overhaul, saying it would raise costs and disrupt coverage. Instead, profit margins at the companies widened to levels not seen since before the recession, a Bloomberg Government study shows. The industry's lobbyist still says on its website the law will raise costs and cause consumers to lose coverage. Still, the companies saw their average operating profit margins expand to 8.24 percent in the six quarters since the overhaul became law, compared with 6.88 percent for the 18 months before it was passed.
Massachusetts lawmakers must quickly come up with about $150 million to provide health insurance to tens of thousands of legal immigrants, after the state?s highest court ruled yesterday that they were illegally excluded from subsidized coverage available to other residents. The Supreme Judicial Court said a 2009 law that cut legal immigrants from the insurance program "violates their rights to equal protection under the Massachusetts Constitution."