Providing health insurance to the roughly 50 million people uninsured will cost approximately like $120 billion a year. President Obama has proposed $60 billion or so in new revenue for this purpose but Congress seems set to reject about half of the down payment. That makes for the $90 billion healthcare hole, and no one is quite sure how to fill it, says this analysis from the New York Times.
The Illinois-based Loyola University Health System announced it will cut more than 440 jobs, or about 8% of its work force, amid the recession and an economic downturn causing an influx of patients who cannot pay their medical bills. For example, the number of patients who cannot pay their bills has increased by 73% the medical center's expenses on charity care to $31.3 million from $18.1 million for the nine-month period that ended March 31.
The idea of taxing employee healthcare benefits to raise money for an overhaul of the health system is gaining strength in Congress, although it drew criticism from Barack Obama when he was campaigning for president. Experts before the Senate Finance Committee said it is one of the best ways to pay for a healthcare overhaul, and many top Democrats support the concept.
In response to a sagging economy, Minnesota-based Park Nicollet Health Services announced it would shut down a clinic and consolidate some mental health services. The moves will result in 240 employees losing their jobs. Park Nicollet already has eliminated more than 490 positions in the past six months, a result of its diminished investment portfolio and a decline in the number of patients because of the recession.
Federal authorities are investigating the theft of patient information, possibly by a former Johns Hopkins Hospital employee, as part of a scheme to make fraudulent driver's licenses. The employee, who worked in the patient registration area, would have had access to information such as names, addresses, parents' names, and Social Security numbers as part of her job duties, according to a letter the hospital sent to the identity theft unit of the state attorney general's office.
Several Texas lawmakers made a last-ditch effort to heat up interest in legislation to extend children's Medicaid coverage from a six-month enrollment period to 12 months. The Legislature wraps up its session June 1, and a May 14 deadline in the House for passage of certain bills will take many proposals out of the running. Supporters of the Medicaid expansion called for the House Calendars Committee to place the 12-month Medicaid bill near the front of the remaining batch of bills to be considered.