Capping malpractice damages is a healthcare reform idea that has swirled around Washington for years, but a Dallas Morning News columnist questions whether it would make healthcare less expensive in this article. The evidence doesn't show it, he says.
Grady Memorial Hospital has paid a consultant $1,600 a day for nearly two years to run its patient revenue department, flying her into town and paying for her Atlanta apartment, transportation, meals, and cable bills. Cheri Kane has been paid a total of $785,841 in fees and expenses from Grady since July 2007. Last year, the hospital paid her $378,400 in fees and $54,884 in expenses, for a total of $433,284, according to hospital records. Hospital officials say Kane's work boosts revenue and has been worth the cost. But some Grady advocates and healthcare experts have raised concerns about the longterm employment of a private consultant.
The health plans that cover most Minnesotans broke even last year after three years of operating losses and look poised for a strong 2009. Enrollment in public programs, in particular Medical Assistance, grew sharply in a weak economy. So did enrollment in plans with health savings accounts. Overall enrollment was up 2.6% to 4.3 million, according to the Minnesota Council of Health Plans, which released its annual report on health plan financial results.
Seattle planners did not adequately review potential impacts of Seattle Children's Hospital's proposed expansion plan, a hearing examiner ruled. Ruling on the Laurelhurst Community Club's appeal of the city's environmental impact statement, the examiner said planners did not go into enough detail about how the proposal conflicted with city land-use policies or about 136 homes that would be demolished as part of the expansion. Planners must lay out how the proposal conflicts with certain city land-use policies and meets other stated city objectives, giving City Council members information they need to make a balanced decision, the examiner wrote.
Sinai Health System announced that it will receive property north of its Mt. Sinai Hospital for a campus redevelopment plan under a land swap approved by the Chicago Housing Authority Board. CHA will provide to Sinai a parcel for a new parking lot and a 200,000-square-foot ambulatory care center, Sinai said. In return, Sinai is transferring to CHA a parcel. Sinai said the land swap involves no cash payment to the city.
A high-level commission will develop a blueprint for how to get the most out of record levels of global health aid by enlisting lawmakers, pharmaceutical executives, and a wide array of specialists to recommend ways the U.S. government can better coordinate helping the world's most vulnerable people. The bipartisan Commission on Smart Global Health Policy was given a mandate to identify a more comprehensive strategy for spending the estimated $10 billion dedicated each year to assisting the most disease-plagued nations.