Stung by a $73 million revenue write-down in fiscal 2008, West Penn Allegheny Health System posted an operating loss of $93.9 million for the year ending June 30, according to unaudited financial results. The $93.9 million loss from its core medical services in fiscal 2008 compares with a loss of $19 million during the same period in 2007.
North Oakland Medical Centers, a 336-bed Pontiac, MI-based hospital that closed, has reopened for business with last-minute promises of a $5.7-million bailout from Michigan's Medicaid budget.The bailout angered a nearby Pontiac hospital chief: "Unbelievable," said Jack Weiner, president and CEO of St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, also in Pontiac. Hospital administrators "all are sitting here saying that the amount of money Medicaid gives to hospitals is less than our costs. I find it amazing they'd give that money away to a brand-new entity, especially a for-profit physicians group."
Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial Hospital is in pursuit of an "affiliation" with Lake Forest (IL) Hospital, executives from the two healthcare providers have confirmed. Like other Chicago-area hospitals, Northwestern Memorial has been looking at the suburbs to attract more insured patients. Some hospitals, mostly non-profit, say they need to generate revenue by opening facilities in areas with more insured patients to cover costs of those who cannot pay their bills. Though the exact deal has not been completed, neither side is not ruling out a merger or an acquisition by Northwestern Memorial as a way for Lake Forest to generate some cash to build a new hospital and upgrade its 215-bed facility.
A federal court has blocked the Bush administration's effort to save money on Medicare by paying for only the least expensive treatments for particular conditions. Congress sets Medicare payment rates and never intended to give officials broad discretion to alter them, the court said. The case, now being scutinized by Medicare officials and consumer advocates, involved drugs used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Medicare officials have often tried to adopt regulations that allow them to consider cost in deciding whether the program should cover various goods and services. Healthcare providers, manufacturers, and some patients' advocates have resisted these efforts, saying that coverage decisions should be made based on clinical effectiveness and not cost.
The 2008 race for the White House fundamentally upended the way presidential campaigns are fought in this country. It has rewritten the rules on how to reach voters, raise money, organize supporters, manage the news media, track and mold public opinion, and wage political attacks. Among the biggest changes this year is the intense new interest in politics, reflected in jumps in voters registration, early voting, and attendance at rallies.
After the U.S. invasion of 2003, Iraq's borders were flung open and insurgents and weapons poured in from neighboring countries. So, too, did illegal pharmaceuticals. The government has raided and closed 120 illegal pharmacies across Iraq in the past two months, but many more continue to operate.
The parent of Sumner Regional Medical Center in Gallatin, TN, said it would lay off 90 employees and cut the hours of almost two dozen others, citing a challenging operating environment for hospitals.
Most of those losing jobs were in nonmedical administrative or management jobs. Cuts will be made at the not-for-profit system's corporate offices; its flagship hospital in Gallatin; Riverview Regional Medical Center in Carthage, TN; and Sumner Homecare and Hospice.
An increasing number of healthcare professionals are looking at the "sabermetrics" revolution in baseball statistics—a strategy to build better teams with cheaper players—to question established medical practices and to help develop better and cheaper healthcare. The process involves the development of best healthcare practices based on data that show which treatments and protocols work and which do not. But so far it has generated more interest than adoption among traditional healthcare providers.
As the financial crisis drags on, the prospects for universal healthcare in the U.S. seem to be dimming—but what about narrowing our expectations to universal primary care? In a comment published online by the Lancet, four physicians with the American Academy of Family Physicians argue that more attention should be paid to the dwindling ranks of primary-care docs. "What we really need in this country is universal access to primary care," they write, and suggest some steps to bolster physicians' interest in primary care.
People who lose their jobs and have to search for health insurance is a problem more Americans will face as the economic downturn continues. Poor families may find coverage through state programs like Medicaid, while others might convert the group policy from their employer to an individual plan or buy a separate policy on the open market. Insurers also offer scores of individual plans for a wide range of prices, but these polices may not work if the applicant has a pre-existing condition. That can lead to insurance that costs too much or excludes expensive, chronic conditions.
