August 15, 2019 Recent News

Healthcare

Hospital

Physicians

Healthcare

Anthem Blue Cross has announced they will only accept billings filed within 90 days of the dates of service.  This is down from 365 days and starts on 10/1.  This means that all payment claims from July need to be filed prior to 10/1.  This only affects contracted providers.  Non-contracted providers will still have 180 days to file at least in California.

California is attempting to discipline physicians for their anti-vax stand and writing false exemptions for patients.  They are being stymied by the patients who will not allow the state to have access to their medical records without subpoenas.

A new type of medical vacations have come into view.  This one is where the patient and the surgeon are flown to Mexico or similar country and the needed surgery is performed there to drastically reduce the cost.  The catch is that the surgeon is not their local one and what happens if something goes wrong later after discharge.          Top

Hospital

Hahnermann University Hospital is shutting.  They had originally agreed to sell its residency slots for $7.5 million to Tower Health, a local company.  The final bid went to a consortium of hospitals in the Philly suburbs for $55 million.  Big business?  Then reality set in.  The feds (CMS) announced that their residency agreement terminates with their closure and the slots can not be transferred.  

Kaiser continues to grow.  They reported operating income of $21.4 Billion in the second quarter, up 9.3%.  Membership went from 12.2 million to 12.3 million.  Expenses also grew from $19.3 Billion to $20.3 Billion.  The operating bottom line grew from $653 million to $2 Billion, a huge jump.        Top

Physicians

I recently read a good story on Dr. Adam Litvin.  He was 20 years ago in jail for impersonating a physician at UCLA.  He served two months in jail and had six months psychiatric counseling court ordered.  He did more than the mandated time in therapy.  He has since graduated college and medical school, but a foreign medical school.  To date he has not been able to find a residency but will reapply.          Top

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 DISCLAIMER: Although this article is updated periodically, it reflects the author's point of view at the time of publication. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Readers should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the information presented.