A 6% Medicaid payment cut is among the difficult options that the Georgia General Assembly is weighing to fill a financial hole in the Medicaid program, which covers more than 1 million poor and disabled Georgians. Across Georgia, medical professionals are calculating potential damage if cuts are approved. "Devastating" is a word commonly used.
The University of Chicago Medical Center violated federal law by not providing a medical screening exam to a 78-year-old man who died last month in its emergency room, federal health officials say. The Feb. 3 death of the man led to violations of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Such violations, if not corrected to the agency's satisfaction, could lead to a loss of federal funding from the Medicare health insurance program.
The past few weeks have been difficult for Franciscan Hospital for Children's chief executive officer Paul DellaRocco. First, he asked all of the Massachusetts-based hospital's employees to take a pay cut of 2% to 3%. Then he delivered another blow, laying off 40 people. Franciscan has operated largely in the shadow of larger institutions like Boston Children's Hospital or the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts. Located in Brighton, the small hospital is now operating with $16 million less in funding this year due to state budget cuts.
The American College of Cardiology is launching a new initiative to reduce the number of patients who are readmitted to hospitals within 30 days of being discharged for congestive heart failure or a heart attack. The effort is part of the society's broader plan to encourage its membership to rein in unnecessary tests and procedures and improve the quality of their care as President Barack Obama makes healthcare overhaul a top priority.
The stimulus package includes $1.1 billion in funding for so-called comparative-effectiveness research aimed at determining which treatment works best for a given medical condition. Now the NIH has published a list of high-priority projects it wants to fund, providing a clearer picture of just how that money may be spent. The list suggests scrutiny for some of the best-selling drugs for heart conditions and asthma, among others.
New York Gov. David A. Paterson and leaders of the Legislature outlined a $131.8 billion agreement that would close the state's gaping deficit with billions of dollars in new taxes, financing from the federal stimulus and a substantial slowdown in the growth of healthcare spending. Paterson said the budget would include $6.5 billion in recurring spending reductions, including major savings wrested from New York's large and politically potent healthcare sector.