A growing number of consumer advocates—many bound by ordeals with MRSA—have vowed that if the U.S. hospital system will not heal itself, they will do it. Across the country, consumer advocates have embraced MRSA screening and hospital report cards to make hospitals more transparent and aggressive when dealing with infections. The more popular has been report cards, often a byproduct of patient frustration with hospital secrecy and inadequate infection control.
The United States could cut billions of dollars from its healthcare bill and improve the quality of medical care by cutting the unnecessary use of these and other procedures, a high-powered national coalition said. The group of 28 national organizations, which ranges from the AFL-CIO to Consumer Reports and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, said the country doesn’t need to wait for Congress or the Obama administration to enact reform. Health insurers, they said, can cut unnecessary care by changing what they will reimburse. Hospitals can reduce serious errors, and medical groups can start educating patients on what’s appropriate care, the group said.
Giving in to pressure from advocates and Democratic legislators, Republican Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell said that her struggling Charter Oak plan for the uninsured can succeed even when medical enrollment is separated from the popular HUSKY health program for children. Rell will no longer require HMOs that want to participate in the HUSKY plan to join her signature program for uninsured people. The demand for a package deal had inspired few doctors and hospitals to participate in Charter Oak, and the program has clearly displayed growing pains as it tries to become established, advocates and legislators say.
Truckloads of riot police were deployed outside a hospital to prevent scores of doctors and nurses from marching in protest at the state of Zimbabwe's collapsing health system. Zimbabwe's health system has collapsed under the weight of the world's highest inflation rate, with many hospitals unable to provide even basic medicines. The protesters were also demanding that the government review their salaries which have failed to keep pace with the inflation.
By 2016, the average premiums paid by employers and their workers for family coverage could top $24,000. If current trends continue, that amount would put the cost for family health insurance at 45% of median household income, says a report from the New America Foundation.
Even as employers push a greater share of rising medical costs on to workers, a growing number of companies also are providing services like free check-ups, screening exams, and prescription drugs that potentially can save employees hundreds of dollars a year. The trend is gathering steam as more companies expect to reduce their overall healthcare spending by focusing more attention on preventing illness.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel will consider three proposed antibiotics designed to treat serious skin infections, including some caused by MRSA. The bacterium has sparked concern as the super bug has moved into community settings like schools and locker rooms in recent years after once being largely confined to hospital settings. But it's not clear if any of the three drugs will reach the bar for FDA approval because of safety concerns or questions about how well the drugs work compared with other available medications.
A Bush administration plan to grant new protections to healthcare providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections. The proposed rule would prohibit recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers who refuse to perform or to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures because of their "religious beliefs or moral convictions." It would also prevent hospitals, clinics, doctors' offices, and drugstores from requiring employees with religious or moral objections to "assist in the performance of any part of a health service program or research activity" financed by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Massachusetts General Hospital fared poorly in its last inspection by the Joint Commission, and is getting ready for the group's next visit that could come at any time within the next 13 months. The hospital recently hired consultants to perform a mock accreditation survey and is implementing new training and educational procedures. In a recent e-mail to staff, Mass. General's president said the survey showed some areas still need improvement and must be addressed "immediately."
Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has told reporters that he would advance a bill in early 2009 calling for universal healthcare. Kennedy made the announcement during his second appearance on Capitol Hill since he began treatment for a malignant brain tumor in June. Some Democrats, including members of President-elect Barack Obama's circle, have begun to view expanded health coverage as a longer-term goal.
