Days after the insurance lobby began an aggressive campaign against a Senate plan to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, senior Democrats threatened to revoke the industry's long-standing antitrust exemption. Health insurance is one of only a few industries exempted from certain federal antitrust regulations, and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) said the exemption was "one of the worst accidents of American history. It deserves a lot of the blame for the huge rise in premiums that has made health insurance so unaffordable."
Seniors across the country revel in the free perks that private insurance companies bundle with legally mandated benefits to entice people 65 and older to forgo traditional Medicare and sign up for private Medicare Advantage policies. But the extra benefits are not exactly free; they are subsidized by the government. And some of the plans pass their costs on to seniors, who pay higher co-pays and additional fees to get care, reports the Washington Post.
Citing the need to reduce the spread of the swine flu virus, Stanford and Lucile Packard Children's hospitals in California announced plans to bar children under the age of 16 from visiting patients, including family members. Officials from Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland said the hospital has already starting banning visitors under 18. Stanford Hospital officials said they restricted visitations at their hospitals because children are more likely to get swine flu and they can be infectious for longer periods of time, even after symptoms are gone. The policy will remain in effect throughout the flu season.
Struggling to improve its difficult financial situation, Miami-based Jackson Health System is planning to hire a firm of high-priced consultants. James R. Malone, managing partner of Qorval consulting services, will serve as Jackson's interim chief operating officer at a rate of $595 an hour for the next nine months. Barry Dubin will become chief restructuring officer, at $425 an hour. Altogether, Qorval could get up to $1.8 million for the services of three to six consultants in the next nine months. The contract was approved unanimously by a committee of the Public Health Trust and is expected to be accepted by the full trust board at its meeting later this month.
Nashville hospitals have started to receive shipments of the injectable version of the H1N1 vaccine, which can be taken by people who aren't eligible for the nasal spray. Baptist Hospital received 600 of the 3,000 shot doses it ordered, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center also got about 2,500 doses. Like the H1N1 FluMist nasal spray, the shot will be given to healthcare workers first. Any remaining doses probably will go to hospitalized patients.
California has ousted Blue Shield from the state's high-risk medical insurance pool because its premiums were too high. The pool, known as the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program, or MRMIP, insures more than 6,700 Californians who have been shut out of the private health insurance market because of pre-existing conditions. Through MRMIP, such people are able to buy coverage from private insurers at premiums that are supposed to be 25% higher than the market rate for a comparable policy. The state reimburses the insurers for any losses they incur, according to the Los Angeles Times.