Rhode Island news and information

Consumer and small business advocates in New Hampshire are disappointed but not surprised that only one company plans to sell insurance through the new online marketplaces required under President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul.
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Fifteen doctors are among the dozens of people being laid off as Rhode Island's largest hospital network tries to cut nearly $150 million in expenses in the next two years. The health system also plans to reduce the number of residents in its physician training program beginning in July 2014.
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For the first time, Rhode Island's insurance commissioner has directed health insurers to disclose what they pay for healthcare services. But that information won't necessarily be directly available to patients.
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Rhode Island policymakers and the state's healthcare industry began to draft plans last month on how best to overhaul payment to hospitals, doctors and other providers and simultaneously improve the health and well-being of its citizens.
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Faced with declines in population and inpatient stays, Rhode Island can expect to see a costly surplus of hospital beds—the equivalent of a full hospital—in four years, according to a state health care council.
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Steward Health Care System is blaming Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island for tanking its bid to buy Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, R.I.
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The Rhode Island attorney general's office and department of health have suspended their review of an application from a California hospital chain to purchase Landmark Medical Center, saying it is incomplete.
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The unhealthiest counties in the nation have the highest rates of preventable hospital stays, smoking and adult obesity, according to the 2013 County Health Rankings.
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PITTSBURGH—Insurer Highmark closed on a deal for its first hospital under a costly plan to diversify and compete with the region's well-financed and largest health system. Jefferson Regional Medical Center, in Jefferson Hills, Pa., will receive $100 million for capital projects under...
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Computer mistakes like the one that produced incorrect prescriptions for thousands of Rhode Island patients are probably far more common and dangerous than proponents of electronic medical records believe, says Drexel University's Scot Silverstein.
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