Layoff notices went out to 60 employees of Ministry Health Care, which operates hospitals, clinics, and other medical services in central and northern Wisconsin. Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield got the most layoffs, with 23 workers put on notice.
Advocate Health Care is moving closer to a deal with a large hospital operator in Bloomington-Normal, a sign that Illinois' largest medical care provider could be reaching its first partnership outside of the Chicago area. Advocate, which owns nine hospitals in Chicago and the suburbs, said in a memo it has extended its letter of intent to "explore a partnership" with BroMenn Healthcare System. The letter of intent was first signed in December, and executives are now negotiating terms of the definitive agreement, which could be finalized this summer.
Earnings from the nation's big health insurers show them losing members at a rapid rate, suggesting the ranks of uninsured Americans are surging during the recession. The latest evidence came from WellPoint Inc., the country's largest health insurer with nearly 35 million medical-plan members. Reporting a 1.3% drop in first-quarter net income, the insurer also said it had shed nearly 500,000 net members since the end of December.
The results of a poll of 1,238 adults out from the Kaiser Family Foundation, NPR, and the Harvard School of Public Health is a sign that doctors have a sharp arrow in their quiver when it comes to shaping reform of the healthcare system: The public trusts them, according to this post from the Wall Street Journal Health Blog.
Pressed by insurance companies, some drug makers are beginning to adjust what they charge for their drugs based on how well the medicines improve patients' health. Such pay-for-performance contracts started to take hold a few years ago in countries with national health systems, in which the government could effectively block a drug from being used if it was too costly. Some experts hail such arrangements as a welcome step toward healthcare that rewards good outcomes for patients.
With solid majorities in both houses of Congress, Democrats are tempted to use their political muscle to speed passage of healthcare legislation with minimal concessions to the Republican minority. That approach may be the only way they can fulfill President Obama's campaign promises, but it carries high risks as well, according to this analysis from the New York Times.