Matthew DoBias and Jennifer Lubell May 18, 2009 A multipronged effort to reshape the U.S. healthcare system took center stage last week in Washington, with everyone from President Barack Obama on down pitching a vision of a new health sector even as positions became more entrenched and alliances started to fray. ... FULL STORY
Elizabeth Gardner May 18, 2009 Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston has found that taking a page from the operations manual for a nuclear power plant—the ultimate “safety first” institution—can make an extraordinary difference in patient safety. ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 With California’s budget in crisis amid the ongoing recession, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed more cuts to health services, including a 10% Medicaid rate cut to private hospitals, according to his May revised budget. The state has a budget shortfall of between $15.4 billion and $21.3... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 Medical-waste disposal company Stericycle, Lake Forest, Ill., has signed an agreement to purchase MedServe, a Bellaire, Texas-based medical-waste disposal company, for $185 million in cash, according to a news release. MedServe, currently co-owned by three venture capital and private-equity firms,... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 Healthcare groups applauded the appointment of New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying he has the experience and toughness necessary to fight infectious disease. “Frieden’s experience and dedication to public... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 The North Broward (Fla.) Hospital District Board of Commissioners, operator of one of the nation’s largest public health systems, four-hospital Broward Health, ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 California regulators have fined Kaiser Permanente Bellflower (Calif.) Medical Center $250,000 for failing to keep workers from peeking at the electronic health records of Nadya Suleman, who gave birth to octuplets at the hospital in January. The fine is the first under a new state law that took... ... FULL STORY
Matthew DoBias and Jennifer Lubell May 18, 2009 A multipronged effort to reshape the U.S. healthcare system took center stage last week in Washington, with everyone from President Barack Obama on down pitching a vision of a new health sector even as positions became more entrenched and alliances started to fray. ... FULL STORY
Jennifer Lubell May 18, 2009 The cry for healthcare reform grew louder last week after a report showed that Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund may dry up earlier than expected. ... FULL STORY
Andis Robeznieks May 18, 2009 Added up, new research calculates that a physician may spend nearly three weeks a year on health plan-related tasks. ... FULL STORY
Joe Carlson May 18, 2009 Not even the profound pressures exerted by a recession can alter the demographic force driving the national nursing shortage, namely the onset of old age. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely May 18, 2009 The nation’s largest health insurers are feeling the pinch of the ongoing recession, according to two new reports, with continued membership losses in their most lucrative segment: risk-based commercial enrollment. ... FULL STORY
Shawn Rhea May 18, 2009 Members of Congress are considering legislation that would overturn a 2008 Supreme Court decision and make it easier for consumers to sue manufacturers over certain faulty medical devices. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely May 18, 2009 The longstanding practice of gender rating by health insurers—charging women higher rates than men for the same plan—is getting fresh scrutiny as lawmakers work to reshape the health insurance system. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely May 18, 2009 Listening to health insurers and employers lately, COBRA starts to sound like a fitting name for the federal program that allows laid-off workers to extend their employer-sponsored health benefits. Like the eponymous snake, the COBRA program is lying in wait, ready to strike at profit margins, some... ... FULL STORY
Elizabeth Gardner May 18, 2009 Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston has found that taking a page from the operations manual for a nuclear power plant—the ultimate “safety first” institution—can make an extraordinary difference in patient safety. ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 JOPLIN, Mo.—Sisters of Mercy Health System, Chesterfield, Mo., and Catholic Health Initiatives, Denver, said earlier this month that they have signed a letter of intent to explore the sale of CHI’s 357-bed St. John’s Regional Medical Center, Joplin, to Sisters of Mercy. No terms were... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 LOS ANGELES—Prospect Medical Holdings said last month that it increased its stake in 399-bed Brotman Medical Center, Culver City, Calif., to 72% as part of the hospital’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection. Brotman, which used to be owned by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp., filed... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 TOWSON, Md.—Three top executives at 332-bed St. Joseph Medical Center resigned as the hospital continues to cooperate with a federal investigation into the financial relationship between the hospital and an unnamed physician group. Beth O’Brien was made interim president and CEO of the... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 TUNKHANNOCK, Pa.—Tyler Memorial Hospital and the Northeast region of Mercy Health Partners, Scranton, Pa., said last month that they have agreed on a memorandum of understanding in order to investigate a deal between them. The not-for-profits expect to spend 90 to 120 days in due diligence... ... FULL STORY
Craig Becker May 18, 2009 For the past 30 years that I have been in the healthcare business, I have said and heard others say, “This is the year for healthcare reform!” ... FULL STORY
Craig Becker May 17, 2009 For the past 30 years that I have been in the healthcare business, I have said and heard others say, “This is the year for healthcare reform!” ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 I appreciated your story on controlling healthcare costs, “Cost conscious” (April 27, p. 18). I would like to point out that many times what we consider “costs” are really expenditures or prices, and these are outputs of the healthcare system. ... FULL STORY
Kathleen Yaremchuk and J. Douglas Clark May 18, 2009 In January 2007, Henry Ford Health System in Detroit adopted a conflict-of-interest policy to eliminate potential conflicts between vendors and employees. ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 James Stansel, 39, rejoined the law firm Sidley Austin as a partner in the Washington office and co-head of the firm’s life-sciences practice. In 2006, Stansel went to work for HHS, where he served as deputy general counsel, acting general counsel and then counselor to HHS Secretary Mike... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 Neurologist John Noseworthy was appointed to become CEO of the Mayo Clinic system, taking the reins at the research-oriented integrated provider facing major financial hurdles. Noseworthy, 57, will take on the new role in late November when Denis Cortese retires as president and CEO... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 Herb Kuhn, former deputy administrator of the CMS and an independent healthcare consultant, will be joining the influential Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Kuhn, 52, along with Robert Berenson, 62, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, were both appointed as new members to the... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 A New Jersey professor’s interest in transgenic tomatoes won him a share of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s $100 million effort to improve global health. ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 Being invited to a private lunch with the president of the United States to discuss healthcare reform is prestigious, no matter which political party you belong to. But a presidential lunch with the vice president and the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee? Apparently, not so... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 Maybe they were inspired by the endless barrage of news stories lamenting the rising cost of healthcare and decided they wanted to help a few light-pocketed practitioners and patients cut costs. Maybe they were just prompted by the prospect of earning an easy six figures. But whatever the... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 It must be spring in an odd-numbered year in Washington, because Rep. Jan Schakowsky has introduced her federal nurse-staffing ratio bill in Congress. ... FULL STORY
