Massachusetts budget cuts will hit two of the state's safety-net hospitals particularly hard: Boston Medical Center has been notified it will not be reimbursed $64 million for care delivered to low-income Medicaid patients last fiscal year, and Cambridge Health Alliance will lose out on $40 million it had been expecting. An executive at Boston Medical said the hospital will be forced to cut services. Officials at Cambridge Health Alliance said they had not yet been notified of the cuts, but earlier this year the Boston Globe reported that the hospital was on track to lose $26 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Alabama hospitals were told by the Alabama Medicaid Agency last week they faced drastic cuts, according to the Alabama Hospital Association. Fearing the cuts would be catastrophic for many hospitals, the association had an emergency meeting with Gov. Bob Riley and Medicaid Commissioner Carol Steckel. Panicked hospital executives told Riley and Steckel the cuts, which were supposed to be effective retroactively to Oct. 1, would put many hospitals out of business or force them to reduce services.
Southern Regional Medical Center, Clayton County, GA's only hospital, has lost money for two years and is depending on the county government to help offset a decline in patients and rising costs to treat the uninsured. An ongoing political feud and concerns about the struggling economy have delayed that help, however. The 331-bed hospital Riverdale hospital has asked the County Commission to back a $95 million bond. County commissioners initially agreed to back the bond, but have began having second thoughts.
Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child healthcare program in the country just seven months after it launched. Gov. Linda Lingle's administration cited budget shortfalls and other available healthcare options for eliminating funding. A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan.
Lawmakers Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Herb Kohl of Wisconsin have sent a letter asking the nonprofit group that sponsors the Cardiovascular Research Foundation conference for information about its financial relationships with device manufacturers and drug producers. The letter is part of a recent wave of inquiries by Senators Grassley and Kohl into potential conflicts of interests between medical researchers and drug and device companies. The lawmakers are also among those sponsoring legislation that would require the industry to more fully disclose such financial ties.
Makati City, acknowledged as the Philippine's premier financial district, has launched a program promoting medical tourism. Mayor Jejomar Binay said the Medical Tourism Makati program aims to encourage locals, foreigners, and overseas Filipino workers to make use of the affordable products and services of the city's world-class hospitals, spas, and health centers.