The village of Homer Glen in Illinois is close to having one of the state's few free-standing emergency centers, but questions remain over whether it should have a helicopter landing. For months, Joliet-based Silver Cross Hospital has been eyeing an existing medical center where it hopes to develop a free-standing emergency center. The Homer Glen facility would treat about 10,000 patients per year.
A coalition of labor groups is aiming at Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, who supports taxing employer-provided health benefits as a way to pay for overhauling the healthcare system. An advertisement released by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the United Food and Commercial Workers and the National Education Association says "the last thing we need is to pay more. But Senator Ron Wyden would tax the healthcare benefits we get at work—as if they were income. Taxing healthcare benefits? That doesn't make sense."
Years of economic sanctions, followed by war, have taken a heavy toll on public services in Iraq. Stories of missing drugs, of ill-equipped doctors, and of patients left to suffer the consequences are everywhere in Iraq's public healthcare system, for example.
A study released by Deloitte profiling the comparative effectiveness systems of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Germany concludes that if implemented correctly, comparative effectiveness has the potential to improve care and reduce healthcare costs for Americans.
A survey of more than 70,000 inpatients across England conducted by the Care Quality Commission found significant improvement in infection control when compared to a similar survey done in 2008. Patients said wards and bathrooms were very clean and more noticed doctors and nurses washing their hands between patients, the survey found. One in 10 patients, however, said they were not involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care.
A Gallup Poll has found that up to 29% of Americans would consider traveling abroad for medical procedures such as heart bypass surgery, hip or knee replacement, plastic surgery, cancer diagnosis and treatment, or alternative medical care, even though all are routinely done in the United States. "The data suggest the estimated population of 48 million Americans without health insurance are motivated by costs and would be more likely than those with health insurance coverage to consider seeking medical care from alternative sources," according to the study's findings.