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A recent report showed administrative costs in healthcare are rising due to prior authorization, claims submission, claims status inquiry and payment. This is on top of staffing shortages and cybersecurity threats. What is not rising is the amount paid for services so medical offices are getting much less especially as compared to inflation.
The junior physicians of England will again go on strike at the end of February. This time it will be for five days. This will again screw up the NHS who refuses to negotiate with the group for higher wages and benefits.
CalOptima, a Medicaid HMO, has terminated its contract with four four hospitals owned by Prime Healthcare. This means that many patients will need to go to other facilities where they will have to wait for records to be sent. This could lead to medical problems and potential law suits. Top
Hospitals do not learn from past mistakes of others. Billings Clinic has let lapse its contract with Billings Anesthesiology, the largest group in Montana. They want their own employee group. This has been done in many places prior with mostly very poor results and terrible publicity with loss of patients. Should be no different here especially as it was just named the state's first Level 1 trauma center.
And yet another one. Methodist Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis has severed its relationship with a 50 year old partner Medical Anesthesia Group. The problem was that the anesthesia group did not meet its contractual obligations and the hospital had to hire at its own expense for full coverage. The hospital now has a contract with Somnia.
Kaiser continues its winning streak. They reported a operating income of $329 million in 2023 as opposed to a $1.2 billion loss the preceding year. This is based on a revenue of $100.8 Billion and expenses of $100.5 Billion, both an increase from the prior year. After investments etc. the net income was $4.1 Billion. This is on a loss of 51,000 members. Top
Surgeons are facing declining reimbursement fro both Medicare and private insurers. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons reported the hourly rates for hip replacements are about the same as dentists and travel nurses. They projected that Medicare payments for hip replacements would drop below $11 per hour. McDonalds workers in California make $20 per hour and healthcare workers are guaranteed $25 per hour. Once the surgeons wake up they may stop doing some elective surgery causing severe pressure on the insurers to pony up more money. The other alternative is to become employees of hospitals which means higher salaries for the physicians and more money spend by insurers. Top
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.
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Biden has announced the resurrection of the Obama initiative Cancer Moonshot. Obama directed Biden in 2016 to head this program which went virtually nowhere. Now he is attempting to bring it back with more committees but no funding. That needs to be done by Congress. Lots of luck.
Biden has accepted the resignation of his director of the Office of Science and Technology Eric Lander. He was accused of bullying his employees and an investigation confirmed it.
California's Gov has a secret no bid contract with his prime supporter Kaiser Permanente. The contract is for a state wide Medicaid plan that will decimate other smaller Medicaid plans. The five year contract starts in 2024 but needs to be approved by the legislature. KP has donated over $100 million to Gov Newsom's wants. There are several of Newsom's cronies with significant ties to KP. This is a big jump for KP into the Medicaid arena but they do get to cherrypick who they want. It would be an understatement to say the other health plans are not pleased. Top
The medical staff of Whidbey Island Hospital District in Michigan voted no confidence in their COO and hospital attorney. The Board said they were caught off guard by this action. The Board has not met in person for the past two years and obviously has no staff representation on the board, an error.
In a probably well deserved piece tearing into PeaceHealth the organization was portrayed as one not caring about patient safety. It described the firing of nurses and physicians after they raised safety concerns. It says the NLRB and OSHA confirmed the concerns. It talks about PeaceHealth screwing the staff on wages and breaks. The piece is very believable. Top
Dr. Edith Behr has been fired from her position as a surgeon at Tower Health in Pennsylvania due to her social media posts regarding Covid and issuing prescriptions for the FDA approved meds for other conditions but hospital banned prescriptions for ivermectin and hydroxychlorquine for Covid. Top
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.