North Carolina set to submit Medicaid waiver | Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal
North Carolina health officials are beginning the boldest legislative attempt at Medicaid reform with their submission of a waiver request to the CMS. The submission commences what could be a three- to five-year process that would place Medicaid oversight in the hands of three statewide managed-care organizations, likely pre-paid health plans from insurers, and up to 12 provider-led entities, likely to involve not-for-profit healthcare systems.
New Jersey hospital settles charges it billed for unnecessary procedures | NJ.com
St. Michael's Medical Center, Newark, N.J., is settling federal whistleblower charges that some of its physicians performed medically unnecessary cardiac and kidney procedures and then billed federal healthcare programs for the costs.
Froedtert Hospital raises rates 10% for hospitalization | Milwaukee Business Journal
Froedtert Hospital will implement a 10% rate increase for inpatient, intensive care and nursery hospitalizations for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Baby with Zika-related microcephaly born at New Jersey hospital | CNN
A baby girl with Zika virus-related microcephaly was born in New Jersey on Tuesday, hospital officials said. "The mother is stable, obviously sad, which is the normal emotional reaction given the situation," said Dr. Abdulla Al-Khan, director of maternal and fetal medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Nurses seek Democratic showdown | Wall Street Journal
The 185,000-strong National Nurses United is the scrubs-wearing symbol of a split in the Democratic Party that threatens to inflict damage at the presidential nominating convention in Philadelphia. While Hillary Clinton tries to bring the nomination battle to a close and unite the party before the general election showdown with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, the nurses are having none of it. They are looking for a fight.
Pfizer and Merck join $500 million California ballot stampede | Bloomberg
As California voters prepare to consider the most ballot measures in almost two decades, companies such as Merck & Co. and Pfizer and other interests have already plowed $160 million to sway the outcomes, a sum that could more than triple before the Nov. 8 election.
New Jersey hospitals cuts down on ER wait time with home check-in service | NJ.com
Sitting and waiting for long stretches of time in a hospital's waiting room has been a seemingly unavoidable aspect of receiving emergency care for years. CarePoint Health hospitals are looking to change that with the help of a new check-in system.
