Pilot reduces ER admissions

New York's Mount Sinai has crafted a creative deal with the state that supporters say is helping New York keep Medicaid costs down and reducing ER visits to the hospital at the same time. Mount Sinai is offering residents in some areas of Harlem free preventative care in return for increased Medicaid reimbursement rates. The pilot project, which has the support of a $2.3 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, provides chronically ill patients suffering from heart problems with preventative care from top specialists.

- see this article from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)

PLUS: Mount Sinai is also working with Harlem's North General Hospital in a separate deal with the smaller hospital that gives it access to specialists for an annual fee. The arrangement has turned out well for both sides, with North General now able to offer patients a range of lucrative services--ranging from vascular surgery to lung biopsies and "other highly specialized" procedures that it had been unable to provide before. Article (WSJ sub. req.)