Category: “Healthcare”

After 18 years as executive vice president and CIO of Pittsburgh-based University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Dan Drawbaugh has resigned.

The attorneys general from 16 states have filed an amicus brief backing the Federal Trade Commission in its closely watched bid to undo an Idaho health system's acquisition of a physician practice. A U.S. district judge in Boise this year ordered St. Luke's Health System to divest Saltzer Medical Group. As providers across the country buy up physician practices to meet the goals of population health management, St. Luke's had tried to argue that the deal is necessary for it to meet the imperatives of healthcare reform.

“applicants who refuse to purchase federally-mandated health insurance when they are eligible to do so will not be awarded charitable care.”

One of ACA's unspoken or should I say a hidden goal is the reduction of the number of US hospitals. One of ACA’s chief architects, Ezekiel Emanuel, admits as much in his book “Reinventing American Health Care: How the Affordable Care Act will Improve our Terribly Complex, Blatantly Unjust, Outrageously Expensive, Grossly Inefficient, Error Prone System.” This Reuter’s article indicates that hospitals are at a tipping point and soon your local hospital may become just another vacant building in your home town.

The SGR, Sustainable Growth Rate, was passed into law in 1997. It was supposed to limit physician reimbursement by CMS by linking payments to a reasonable growth rate. What's reasonable has never been agreed upon. Known as the 'doc fix' Congress has over-ridden the SGR every single year. All of the projected savings in CMS is expected from the SGR limits - not reform, according to the CBO. If Congress doesn't allow this limit (fair or not) how will any savings be realized? They won't - but ACA was really never about saving money was it. Interesting facts in this article about how Radiologists got the most reductions but in 2014 were thrown a bone.

Will commercial insurers exist in a few year? Doubtful as more hospitals and providers enter the insurance business being both insurer and provider.

Agfa HealthCare has received a large digital radiography (DR) order from Summa Health System in Ohio. The vendor will deliver its DX-D Retrofit and mobile DX-D 100 DR systems, as well as its DX-M and CR 30-X computed radiography (CR) systems

The medical imaging technology industry supports an estimated 12,000 jobs and generates approximately $3.1 billion in total economic activity in the state of Washington.

Here is government thinking for you: they start the article with ONLY. Only 10% of ED visits under Medicaid are unnecessary. As ED visits account for 4% of the Medicaid's total spend the wasted money is in the BILLIONS, that's billions, with a b. In 2012 the spend according to the Kaiser Family Foundation on Medicaid was $415,154,234,831. Four percent of that is over $16 Billion dollars, ONLY 10% of which is wasted. As they say in Washington, a billion here and a billion there and soon you're talking about real money.

St. Luke's is the largest private employer in Idaho and the state's only locally owned, locally governed health system. St. Luke's is the state's first and only accountable care organization through its participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. This year, the health system was recognized as one of the country's Top 15 Health Systems by Truven Health Analytics.

Medicare has a 2 night stay rule for patients in a hospital in order for the provider to get a higher level of reimbursement. This rule has dramatically reduced hospital admission and bed days. However it is hated by hospitals and one of the most contentious rules implemented to drive down Federal costs of healthcare. Known as the "two-midnight rule" hospitals may get regulatory relief although they want repeal.

A major champion of ACA doesn't seem to be doing so well.

Prime has agreed to invest more than $80 million into the hospital, including $30 million for capital improvements. Additionally, Prime will maintain St. Mary's as a 269-bed acute-care facility, maintain charity care levels, hire all existing employees and retain the hospital's physician base.