Kaiser Permanente's Oregon-based unit has agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle charges of false billing brought by the federal Medicare program. The U.S. Justice Department said Kaiser's hospice program billed for services without obtaining written certifications of terminal illness required by federal regulations. Kaiser Permanente officials said Kaiser voluntarily disclosed the billing errors to the government in 2005, when the company discovered the errors during an internal review.
The nation's children's hospitals are lobbying Congress to change a provision in the pending healthcare legislation that industry leaders say will reduce their federal funding by as much as $876 million. Hospital groups in July agreed to a $155 billion reduction in federal payments over 10 years, part of a broader effort to lower medical costs. But those cuts would have a lopsided effect on children's hospitals, the industry's trade group says, and could cause deep reductions in services.
St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center could open medical offices in a new office tower proposed for downtown Hartford, CT. St. Francis has signed a letter of intent to lease space in the office tower. Lease negotiations are continuing, and it isn't clear what services would be provided by the hospital and during which hours. It is possible the medical offices could dispense immunizations and other services, such as X-rays, oncology support, and gastrointestinal procedures, said St. Francis officials.
Problems following the device failure were among numerous violations cited by Connecticut health officials who placed St. Francis in Hartford on probation for one year. Regulators also cited problems with hospital facilities, inadequate preventive maintenance of medical equipment, and a lack of evidence that staff evaluated the neurological signs of a patient who fell out of bed and sustained a head injury. The patient later died. Under a consent order, the hospital will be required to take corrective action including additional staff training and submitting to a review by an outside consultant.
Both House and Senate healthcare reform proposals are seeking to slash funds to the HMOs that have attracted 283,000 South Florida seniors because of rich benefit packages that can include free dental care and many other perks, the Miami Herald reports. Reformers want to cut healthcare costs to make insurance more affordable for the uninsured, causing many to look at South Florida—where healthcare is far more expensive than other areas, according to this article from the Herald.
Massachusetts medical device companies continue to battle a proposed federal tax on device makers as lawmakers work to reconcile differences in the House and Senate versions of national healthcare overhaul legislation, the Boston Globe reports. The bill reported out of the Senate Finance Committee would raise $40 billion over 10 years from a tax based on the revenue of device manufacturers, and the bill approved by the House last weekend would raise about $20 billion from a 2.5% tax on a broader class of medical equipment. Device companies are pressing for an amendment that would eliminate the tax from the Senate legislation.