The CMS has identified 10 rural hospitals in Montana, Nevada and North Dakota for a demonstration aimed at serving Medicare beneficiaries in remote locations. The participants are Battle Mountain (Nev.) General Hospital; Dahl Memorial Healthcare, Ekalaka, Mont.; Grover C. Dils Medical Center, Caliente, Nev.; Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center, Elgin, N.D.; McCone County Health Center, Circle, Mont.; McKenzie County Healthcare Systems, Watford City, N.D.; Mount Grant General Hospital, Hawthorne, Nev.; Pershing General Hospital, Lovelock, Nev.; Roosevelt Medical Center, Culbertson, Mont.; and Southwest Healthcare Services, Bowman, N.D. They will receive additional Medicare reimbursement for new services that make getting healthcare more convenient, including skilled-nursing care, telemedicine and ambulance services.St. Louis-based Ascension has formed a unit, Ascension Holdings International, to expand the system's portfolio internationally. The unit will select regions based on population, safety, stability and business environment, according to a news release. The Catholic system will also collaborate with faith-based providers in other countries. Information on potential investment, partners and projected financial return were not disclosed. Ascension has been considering expanding internationally for several years. It dipped into international waters with a joint venture, Health City Cayman Islands, between Ascension and India's Narayana Health.
A blockbuster cancer treatment failed in a key study as the drug's maker, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., attempts to extend its usage to lung cancer patients. Opdivo is already approved as a treatment for melanoma, kidney cancer and lung cancer following chemotherapy. The latest late-stage study involved 541 patients who had received no prior treatment for lung cancer. Shares of New Jersey-based Bristol-Myers Squibb plunged $13.67 to $61.65 before the opening bell Aug. 5.
