Medical technology company Stryker Corp. will voluntarily recall certain hip surgery products after receiving a warning from regulators. The company is recalling Trident PSL and Hemispherical Acetabular Cups, but Stryker representatives said there are no safety issues for patients who received these products.
Pennsylvania has announced it will no longer make Medicaid payments to hospitals for serious, preventable medical errors. The policy change is part of Gov. Ed Rendell's health care initiative, and is intended to make hospitals more vigilant about patient care and reduce costs. The change will be outlined to hospitals in a Department of Public Welfare bulletin.
The Bush administration has threatened to veto Senate legislation designed to improve healthcare on American Indian reservations. Bush objects to expanded labor provisions in the bill, which would boost screening and mental health programs at the Indian Health Service, increase tribal access to Medicare and Medicaid and prompt new construction and modernization of health clinics on reservations.
In December, President Bush vetoed a bill that would more than double spending on the State Children's Health Program for a second time, saying the bill would encourage too many families to replace private insurance with government-subsidized health coverage. With the economy struggling, Democratic lawmakers are now stressing that more families will need to rely on SCHIP this year if unemployment increases. The House is set to vote on whether to override Bush's second SCHIP veto.
Providence Health & Services is building a $30 million surgery center in Washington County, OR. The new facility will house services including day surgery for orthopedics, gynecology and some general surgery. It's designed to serve Washington County's growing population by meeting high demand for such outpatient procedures.
Florida's nurse employers expect an existing nursing shortage to intensify, but a lack of faculty and clinical space is hampering the growth of the state's nursing schools, according to two surveys released by the Florida Center for Nursing. The center's report says the current staffing situation is characterized by high vacancy and turnover rates, unmet need for budgeted positions and expectations of significant staffing growth.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc has announced said that the number of its workers without health insurance has fallen over the last year after being helped by new health plans. Company representatives also said it will commission a study to better understand why some workers declined health coverage and to identify things that can be done to encourage them to accept it in the future.
When a doctors' organization and Louisville, KY-based insurere Humana Inc. could not agree on a new contract, about 300 University of Louisville physicians left the insurer's network on Jan. 1. As a result, affected patients must either pay higher co-payments for visits to their University of Louisville doctor or switch doctors to get maximum benefits from their Humana plan.
Dearborn-based Oakwood Healthcare System has joined Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids to become Michigan's second health system to post its price and quality measurements. Spectrum, which began posting its prices in fall 2006 on its Web site, will also soon publish average prices paid by Medicaid, Medicare and commercial insurers. In December 2007, the Michigan Health & Hospital Association began an online database that lists charges and payments for 50 common Medicare procedures at 146 nonprofit hospitals in the state.
Starting Feb. 1, 2008, Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital in East St. Louis will no longer treat patients with the most serious injuries. Instead, the hospital will direct those patients to trauma hospitals in St. Louis, and the move will save the nonprofit foundation that owns the hospital $1.5 million a year. The emergency room at Kenneth Hall will continue to treat less critical patients, said hospital representatives.
