Many states are experiencing the expense of adding thousands of unemployed to its Medicaid rolls, followed by the decline in revenue that stems from a struggling economy. The combination now has dozens of states looking for some relief, preferably from the federal government—although that relief appears unlikely to come soon.
William McGuire, former CEO of UnitedHealth Group Inc., will pay $30 million to the California Public Employees' Retirement System in the settlement of a class-action lawsuit. McGuire had been accused of illegally backdating his purchases of UnitedHealth stocks. In addition, the settlement prohibits him from purchasing another 3.675 million shares of the company's stock.
A campaign to tap Chicago's philanthropic community for at least $600 million, or about 60% of what's needed to build a replacement for Children's Memorial Hospital, has been unveiled. Christopher Reyes, chairman of the medical center's board of directors, said the "Heroes for Life" campaign is the most ambitious in the hospital's 126-year history. Executives say they have raised $400 million and are pressing for at least an additional $200 million from philanthropy. Aside from philanthropy, Children's executives say they will put investment returns and sale of real estate toward the remaining $400 million.
Recent articles and editorials in major medical journals blast the industry while accusing drugmakers of deceiving the public, manipulating doctors, and putting profits before patients. Medical schools, teaching hospitals, and physician groups are also changing rules to limit the influence of pharmaceutical sales reps. As more voices have called for change, new guidelines for how drugmakers and doctors should interact are coming from both industries. But the industries' dealings remain fraught with potential conflict because the sectors depend on each other so much.
The Bush administration plans to drop Medicaid coverage for 18,000 low-income parents in Minnesota, a move that has stunned state officials. The decision, buried in a 29-page document outlining federal changes affecting Minnesota's subsidized health program called MinnesotaCare, has prompted written protests from all 10 members of Minnesota's congressional delegation.
While some companies continue opening large numbers of walk-in clinics in retail stores, Miami-based Continucare has announced that it had decided to close immediately three clinics in Navarro Discount Pharmacies in Broward and Miami-Dade. Navarro, however, has already found another company that has opened clinics in three of its other stores in South Florida. Publix and Walgreens are also continuing expansion of their clinic operations in the state.
Thousands of U.S. patients may face delays in getting key medical tests because of a global shortage of radioactive tracers used to perform bone scans and to assess blood flow to the heart. The radiotracer in short supply, Mo-99, is mostly used to observe blood flow to the heart and in bone scans that assess the spread of cancer. The impact on patients is "very serious," said Robert Atcher, president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine.
Neighbors of UPMC St. Margaret in Aspinwall, PA, are hoping recent talks between the town's council and the hospital's leaders will bring a solution to their ongoing problem with smokers. Last year, the hospital banned smoking on its campus, which has forced smokers off-site—mainly along Delafield Road and Lexington Avenue—where they have frequently been seen discarding their cigarette butts on sidewalks or lawns.
A new system that assigned a medical home to patients, usually a primary care practice, cut hospital admissions by 20% and costs by 7%, according to a new report. The program at the privately-held, Pennsylvania-based Geisinger Health System could serve as a model for U.S. healthcare reform, researchers reported. Reports have shown that Americans pay more per capita for healthcare, and yet are more likely to die prematurely from preventable and treatable diseases than people in other developed countries. The secret to reversing this, said Geisinger officials, is paying primary care practices to look out for patients.
ClearCount Medical Solutions has developed a way to keep better track of surgical sponges: by embedding a computer chip into them. The chip will be able to be located using a low-level radio frequency wand, which also keeps a precise count of the sponges throughout the surgery process.
