A deaf Maryland woman and her mother, who is also deaf, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, MD alleging that the hospital refused to provide—or pay for—a sign language interpreter when the younger woman experienced a medical emergency in late 2009. "Plaintiffs requested but were denied sign language interpreter services and were thus unable to communicate effectively with Defendant's medical personnel during critical periods," reads the 11-page civil suit filed by Jennifer Simmons of Frederick and Susanna Paulay, who lives in New York. The suit claims that the hospital discriminated against Simmons based on her disability, violating U.S. law. It seeks unspecified damages.
The good doctor was frustrated. David Cull, MD, a prominent vascular surgeon in Greenville, SC, had invented a small valve system that could spare 300,000 dialysis patients across the country enormous suffering —and save American taxpayers billions of dollars in Medicare costs. Yet, Cull's hometown senator, Jim DeMint, refused to write a letter supporting the surgeon's application for a federal grant under the landmark healthcare bill that President Barack Obama signed into law a year ago this week. As a hardcore conservative with a growing national following, DeMint opposes most federal spending. Backing a doctor's grant application under the law—even from a constituent who lives in the same city as DeMint—would leave the senator open to charges of hypocrisy. And DeMint, who vowed in 2009 to make healthcare Obama's "Waterloo," is leading Republican efforts in Congress to repeal the law to provide medical coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans—or, if that can't be done, to deny it funding
Community health centers, pioneered by Boston almost a half century ago, are a cornerstone of efforts to expand healthcare coverage to all Americans while cutting costs. By offering preventive care to poor, uninsured residents, these neighborhood centers reduce the chances these patients will end up in hospital emergency rooms for vastly more expensive treatment, with taxpayers picking up the bill, health analysts say. However, a funding battle in Congress threatens to choke off the services. Republicans want to cut more than a billion dollars bound for such clinics, a move that would force centers across the country to cut back many services. Dozens of new centers could be forced to close, advocates said.
Gov. Rick Scott announced Wednesday the formation of a commission to review whether government hospitals should continue to exist in Florida —a move that could have major implications for the Jackson Health System. "It is the intent of this administration to develop a more rational approach to compensating hospitals with a higher degree of predictability and fairness, and which does not incentivize inefficiency, higher cost or irrational business practices," Scott said in his five-page executive order. The order noted that some hospitals get paid at significantly higher Medicaid rates than others ? an indirect reference to the Lower Income Pool payments that hospitals like Jackson receive for taking care of large numbers of uninsured patients.
Tenet Healthcare Corp. and attorneys for people who stayed at Memorial Medical Center in the traumatic days after Hurricane Katrina agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit against the company on Wednesday, both sides announced. Attorneys had begun the jury selection process earlier this week for a trial at Orleans Parish Civil District Court that was expected to last as long as six weeks. But the settlement, which still requires the approval of Judge Rosemary Ledet, means no trial will occur. The plaintiffs accused Tenet of neglecting to anticipate and prepare for the loss of power after the storm, as well as failing to develop and follow proper evacuation plans and take other necessary emergency-preparedness steps. The terms of the settlement were not released on Wednesday.
The Meaningful Use Workgroup of the HIT Policy Committee met this week to continue the arduous task of deciding what to recommend for inclusion in meaningful use Stage 2 criteria, and the pace for requiring them. Paul Tang, from the Palo Alto Medical Center, chair of the group, said the discussion would be a prelude to the in-person meeting to be held April 5 for the entire HIT Policy Committee. Shortly after May 13, the workgroup is expected to deliver its formal recommendations on Meaningful Use Stage 2 to the committee, he said. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology called for public comments on proposed measures for Meaningful Use 2 and 3 last December. According to Tang, the comments fell mainly into two camps. Vendors and providers urged a delay in Stage 2 implementation, while consumers, purchasers, health plans and HIT advocates pressed for the current time-line.