To pay for an overhaul of the nation's health system, Senate leaders have formally laid out proposals for new taxes on everything from employer-sponsored healthcare benefits and nonprofit hospitals to alcohol and sugary drinks. A bipartisan outline released by the Senate Finance Committee suggests peeling back a number of tax exemptions to pay for expanding health insurance to the nation's 46 million uninsured.
A storefront clinic operated by the University of Chicago Medical Center will close at the end of June, marking another significant step in the facility's groundbreaking, and controversial, plan to pull back on some of the medical services it provides directly to the poor and indigent. Medical center executives say the steep downturn in the economy has forced them to trim $100 million from the hospital's budget to maintain their role of running a world-class hospital, research center, and medical school. The Women's Health Center, which cares for thousands of Medicaid patients, is a money loser, the officials said.
WellCare Health Plans Inc. resolved an informal Securities and Exchange Commission probe of its accounting with an agreement to pay about $10 million plus interest. "We are pleased that this matter has been resolved," said General Counsel Thomas F. O'Neil III. Last summer, the WellCare board determined the company should restate financial statements to correct errors related compliance with refund requirements in certain contracts. Earlier this month, WellCare agreed to pay $80 million to settle Medicaid-fraud probes by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida and the Florida Attorney General's Office.
The Senate committee in charge of financing the upcoming healthcare overhaul is considering changes that could place new financial burdens on Massachusetts institutions and employees, including limiting the tax exclusion for employer-provided health coverage. Because Massachusetts residents typically earn more money and have better insurance than most Americans, limitations on that tax exclusion could disproportionately hurt them.
The Interim Louisiana State University Public Hospital "lacks a broad vision and remains in a post-Katrina reactionary mode," according to a report that also found numerous management inefficiencies that add up to $66 million a year. The report found that per-patient costs are far above national standards, the nursing staff is top-heavy with administrators, operating rooms are under-used, and purchasing services are poorly managed. The conclusions are contained in a 161-page assessment by Alvarez & Marsal, the consulting firm that was brought on board in to oversee the hospital's day-to-day operations and search for efficiencies.
North Memorial Health Care in Robbinsdale, MN, is cutting 100 positions, or about 2% of its hospital's workforce. A combination of reduced hours and layoffs will affect 170 employees. This is the second round of cuts in six months at North Memorial. In December, it eliminated 380 jobs, or 7% of its workforce. North Memorial has absorbed $17.5 million in bad debt, charity care, and discounts for the uninsured so far this year.