Columbia, S.C.-based BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina has added a twist to its customer service by opening a strip-mall store to sell policies and answer questions. The insurer will peddle individual, group, and children's health insurance and offer wellness seminars at its SC BlueStore, which opened recently in Mount Pleasant.
Nine out of 10 companies have put cost-cutting strategies in place in hopes of weathering the recession gripping the U.S. economy, according to a survey from the Chicago-based job placement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Companies say that because of creative tactics to save money they have been able to avoid making layoffs. Cost-cutting measures included cancelations of holiday parties, salary freezes, cuts in workers' hours, reductions in or the elimination of year-end bonuses and cutbacks in various perks.
Patients are getting hammered by huge unexpected charges on medical bills, particularly in the tricky area of what's in and out of network. Finding out the real prices is often difficult for consumers—and made even harder because federal law prohibits any discussion in emergency room situations that would discourage patients from seeking treatment, a provision that providers sometimes use to explain why they don't talk about network or price issues.
The House Health Care & Wellness Committee has passed through legislation that will enable state regulators to conduct surprise inspections of Washington hospitals. The pending bill, which is now before the Rules Committee, repeals previous legislation that required state Department of Health officials to provide a four-week notice before surveying hospitals for health and safety violations.
For more hospitals, finding general surgeons to treat emergency room patients has become a bigger challenge as experienced doctors opt out of late-night call rotations or more physicians choose specialty practices. The trend has sparked the use of more temporary surgeons by hospitals. Hospital administrators say hiring doctors for these short-term assignments helps compensate for the fact that comparatively fewer general surgeons are coming out of medical school and residencies.
NorthShore Skokie (IL) Hospital said it would eliminate 150 full-time jobs, or nearly 14% of its workforce in the next two months.
The move eliminates seven senior executives, secretaries, clerical support, and business office staff. The layoff is beyond some earlier moves to outsource some functions that had already been announced and comes after its purchase by a larger hospital operator.