kaasc.net

Georgia court rules against malpractice cap: Case like one awaiting decision by Kansas Supreme Court

admin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:12:28 +0000

TOPEKA — The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases violates that state’s constitution.

“The very existence of the caps, in any amount, is violative of the right to a trial by jury,” Chief Justice Carol Hunstein wrote in the 20-page decision last month

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Obama Chooses Health Policy Scholar, AHA Trustee, as the Director for Medicare and Medicaid

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:58:17 +0000

WASHINGTON — President Obama will soon name Dr. Donald M. Berwick, an iconoclastic scholar of health policy, to run Medicare and Medicaid, the programs that serve nearly one-third of all Americans, administration officials said Saturday.

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Illinois High Court: Nonprofit Hospital Can Be Taxed

admin — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:38:36 +0000

An Illinois Catholic medical center isn’t a charitable enterprise and must pay property taxes, the state’s highest court ruled Thursday in a case that has been closely watched by hospitals nationwide.

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Revised Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Infection Control Surveyor Worksheets

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:01:26 +0000

The CMS Center for Medicaid and State Operations/Survey and Certification Group released a memo March 5, 2010, regarding Revised Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Infection Control Surveyor Worksheets. Click here for the revised Infection Control Worksheets.

Unchecked Provider Clout in California Foreshadows Challenges to Health Reform

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:48:37 +0000

A Web First article from the journal Health Affairs, supported by CHCF, examines the market power of California hospitals and physicians to negotiate higher payment rates. While the high cost of private health insurance has drawn plenty of attention in the national health reform debate, this underlying driver of higher insurance premiums has gone largely unexamined, according to a Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) study.

The study examines the growing market power of many California hospitals and physicians. Providers are using various strategies, such as tighter alignment of hospitals and physician groups, to negotiate significantly higher payment rates from private insurers, the study finds.

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Poizner Accuses Anthem of More Than 700 Violations of State Law

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:06:35 +0000

On Monday, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner (R) announced that a year-long investigation by his office found that Anthem Blue Cross of California committed 732 violations of state law between 2006 and 2009, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/23).

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Hospital infections killed 48,000, report shows

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:00:34 +0000

Pneumonia and blood-borne infections caught in U.S. hospitals killed 48,000 patients and cost $8.1 billion in 2006, according to a report released on Monday.

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Congress opens probe into Anthem Blue Cross rate increases

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:13:37 +0000

Feb. 10, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) — Congress opened an investigation Tuesday into Anthem Blue Cross’ impending rate increases in California as President Obama cited the premium hikes — some as high as 39% — in his bid to pass national healthcare legislation.

Click here to read the article.

Medical expenses have ‘very steep rate of growth’

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:12:41 +0000

Spending on health care consumed an estimated 17 cents of every dollar spent last year in the United States, representing the largest one-year increase since the federal government started tracking the number in 1960.

Medical Tourism

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:32:46 +0000

Deloitte Center for Health Solutions estimates that 1.6 million Americans by 2012 will combine foreign vacations with outpatient surgery. Driving the trend: more coverage of overseas medical care by major U.S. insurers, an increase in individual insurance policies that carry a high deductible, and a marketing push by companies that combine travel and medical services.

USA Today,
Jan. 8, 2010