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Prime Health is on a buying spree. They purchased several hospitals in the last few months of 2012 and have now controlled Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco, Texas. They also transferred a non profit hospital they own, Huntington Beach Hospital, to their non profit arm.
In the Cape Girardeau, Missouri, area the two major hospitals are trying to get new customers by major advertising. The hospitals, St. Francis and Southeast Hospitals, are charging higher charges for their care than the hospitals in the rest of the state. The hospitals are spending more on advertising than on care for the needy. At St. Francis it was $11 million for advertising and $2.7 million in charity care. Most of the insurers will not discuss the situation except for United who says the hospitals are out of network. Top
The New York Times reports that insurers all over the country are raising premiums some by double digits. This flies in the face of Obamacare which was to decrease premiums. Florida, Ohio and California all have raises over 20%. These raises are for individual policies. These rates can be reviewed by the feds and the states but can not be reversed by law. Top
CMS reports health spending is at a record low. Sebelius says that it is due to Obamacare but her own organization says it is due to the recession and any amount due to Obamacare is minimal.
The RAND Corporation reports that EMR continues to me not useful for researchers since the programs are so hard to use. They still do not talk to each other and therefore information can not be passed. Top
Aegis Health Group says the top ten gripes of physicians are financial, lack of practice support especially in marketing, EMR lack of ease of use and information, lack of information from the hospital to the physicians regarding their patients, ease of scheduling, work/life balance, poor communication from administration, medical group inclusion and availability of specialists.
For those physicians either already employed or thinking about being employed they should go to the AMA who has put out a white paper regarding the principles for physician employment. It talks about conflicts of interest, advocacy, contracting, hospital medical staff relations, peer review and performance evaluations and payment agreements.
Becker's Hospital Review has a report on the five ACO payments provisions for providers. This is a hospital organization and the report is slanted toward the hospital and not the physician. 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.