Healthcare Finance

To date, efforts to make community non-profit hospitals justify that they're providing enough benefits have been controversial, with many accusing hospitals of gaming the system. Another current set of proposals that would tax physicians and doctors to pay for uninsured patients, including one making the rounds in California which would tax physicians 2 percent on their revenues and hospitals 4 percent.

Instead of pushing providers to pay a new tax or prove that they're doing the …

A new budget proposal by President Bush designed to cut Medicare spending by $65.6 billion over five years would have a particularly harsh effects on hospitals, reducing their Medicare income by $30 billion over that period, industry analysts said this week. President Bush is also proposing cutting Medicaid costs a total of $25.7 billion, including $13 billion in spending cuts and $12.7 billion intended to be generated by administrative-cost savings.

The five-year budget proposal …

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards has done what it seems all presidential candidates will need to do this season. He's come out with a broad-based plan to expand health coverage, a plan which would, in his case, require all employers to provide their employees with health care coverage.

In addition to requiring employers to pony up, his plan would also take other steps currently …

Can hospitals give doctors electronic medical record technology or other IT equipment at no cost? After several months of waiting, the answer still seems to be a big "maybe." Last week the American Hospital Association again asked the IRS to offer clear guidance on whether health IT donations to doctors are okay, okay some of the time or unacceptable. To date, the IRS still hasn't formally replied to the AHA and other industry groups and let them know where it stands.

At the …

For officials at Sioux Valley Hospitals & Health System, it's a dream come true. Executives there had long wanted to reinvent their system in the image of research institutions like the Mayo Clinic, transforming it into a world-class center for children's health research, but didn't have the resources. Enter T. Denny Sanford, a billionaire banker from South Dakota with a philanthropic streak. To allow them to accomplish their goals, Sanford has agreed to donate $400 million to the …

The board of directors of Dimensions Healthcare System was preparing to shut down their flagship hospital, but it looks like the death sentence has been avoided for the moment. Dimensions has agreed to allow the county where it is situated--Prince George's County--greater control of the board of directors of Cheverly, MD-based Prince George's Hospital Center in return for cash and time.

Under the terms of the proposal, the county would give Dimensions $5 million, enough to at least …

A new study has found that even when they have private financial coverage, many multiple sclerosis patients struggle to pay for medical care and medications. The study, which was led by Drs. Lisa Iezzoni and Long Ngo of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), was commissioned by the National MS Society and published an online release of the journal Multiple Sclerosis. To conduct the study, …

The results are in on the latest round of Medicare's 266-hospital, three-year pay-for-performance test. And it appears that, initially, P4P incentives are doing what they're supposed to do--improve adherence to evidence-based care. For example, under the new program, managed by nonprofit hospital alliance Premier, it appears that more heart attack patients are getting aspirin when they come into the ED. The winner in the competition to date was Hackensack University Medical Center, which …

New research by the HHS Agency for Health Research and Quality has found that as of two years ago, Americans spent by far the most on cardiovascular drugs. The new study, which named the top five drug spending categories in 2004, the most recent year for which data was available, noted that U.S. adults spent $32 billion on these drugs. Second in the list was hormones, at $25 billion, followed by $24 million on central nervous system medications. The last two categories on the list, …

It could be the biggest healthcare cost hand-off in modern history, and a radical step for all concerned. General Motors and Ford have begun talks with the United Auto Workers union that would, if successful, see the union running a gigantic fund to pay for retiree healthcare costs. The deal would involve a huge one-time payment into the new UAW fund. The deal seems to be inspired by an agreement reached by tire manufacturer Goodyear, which recently passed off $1.2 billion of retiree …