House Democrats want to pass an economic stimulus package of up to $500 billion in January 2009, and Medicaid is among the programs they'd like to see get extra cash: at least $20 billion more in funding from the federal government. Patient advocates say the money the money is necessary, because several states are cutting Medicaid services due to worsening tax shortfalls.
The UnitedHealth Group established a product that gives consumers the right to buy an individual health policy at some point in the future even if they become sick. Called UnitedHealth Continuity, the product is aimed at people who may have insurance now but are worried they may lose it—and may not be able to obtain replacement insurance on their own. People who are already sick will generally not be eligible for the new product. Those who do pass a medical review will pay 20% each month of the current premium on an individual policy to reserve the right to be insured under the plan at some point in the future.
Libertyville, IL-based Condell Medical Center will pay a $36 million settlement to government health programs after the hospital said it accepted improper payments from federal health insurance programs for more than five years. The improper payments, which Condell executives brought to the attention of the U.S. Attorney's Office, was uncovered in the process of the medical center's due diligence with Advocate Health Care, which finalized a deal to buy the 283-bed hospital in Lake County for $180 million. The settlement resolves deals that included improper loans made to physicians, leases with doctor practices that were below fair market value and hospital payments to doctors who performed "patient services without required written agreements," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.
Mark Ridley-Thomas vowed to reopen Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital as he was sworn in as Los Angeles County's newest supervisor. Ridley-Thomas plans to announce details of how the county can reach a January 2010 goal to restore hospital services. Federal regulators forced the hospital to shut down after it failed to meet minimum standards for patient care, and the county downsized the facility, maintaining only clinic services.
Federal health officials estimate that the struggling economy will speed up by one to three years the exhaustion of the Medicare trust fund covering hospital and nursing home care. Trustees for the Social Security and Medicare programs warned in March that the trust fund for Medicare Part A would become insolvent in 2019. But the chief actuary for Medicare said the economy will likely generate less revenue through payroll taxes than the trustees had projected.
Louisiana lawmakers have received their first extensive look at Gov. Bobby Jindal's healthcare proposal, as members of the state House questioned the timing and cost of a sweeping plan to revamp how the state delivers and pays for healthcare to the poor. Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine joined representatives from private hospitals, insurers, doctors, and Louisiana State University in a day-long briefing on the "Louisiana Health First" initiative. "This is the first step as we move toward the regular session," House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, said.