chairman charles news from FierceHealthcare

A proposal by the American Hospital Association (AHA) citing bad debt and unpaid costs for Medicare, Medicaid and indigent care costs as "community benefit" is drawing fire from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA). In a letter to his membership, AHA president-elect Richard Umbdenstock said last week that while he supports community benefit reporting guidelines proposed by the Catholic Hospital Association and Voluntary Hospital Association, he believes that it's also …

The level of charity care not-for-profit hospitals provide is under fire once again. In an in-depth study of 10 charity hospitals, Senate finance committee investigators have found that although charity hospitals offer free care, they often don't inform patients that assistance is available. Some charity hospitals also charge poorer patients more for care while charging well-off patients with coverage less. Additionally, hospital CEOs enjoy expensive perks, which calls into question …

> There was an interesting showdown at the Department of Health and Human Services as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) marched in the front door and demanded access to hospital-acquired infection data. Article

> Lawyers for the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine asked a judge to expedite review of two lawsuits that have blocked efforts to …

With the deadline for registration in Medicare Part D plans tonight at midnight, expect last minute efforts in Washington to extend the sign-up period. Over the weekend, several key Republicans said they would be willing to consider joining the Democrat-led effort to move the deadline back. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) said he might support such legislation but added that he wants to wait until he sees final enrollment numbers before making any decisions. …

> Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and ranking member Max Baucus (D-MT) asked the HHS Inspector General and the GAO to conduct an investigation on physician-owned specialty hospitals. Release (.pdf)

> The MD Anderson Cancer Center will treat former Texas Gov. Anne Richards. Richards has been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. …

The government's system of investigating complaints related to Medicare is "broken" and of "no help" for improving care quality, an investigation by the Senate Finance Committee found. Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to senior Medicare officials on Monday recommending major reforms to the program. Medicare relies on private contractors known as quality improvement organizations (QIOs) to investigate complaints. The Washington Post reports that QIOs …

The Senate Finance Committee will launch a probe into a clinical trial of PolyHeme, a blood substitute manufactured by Northfield Laboratories, after reports surfaced that negative results in an earlier trial were suppressed. The investigation centers on the FDA's decision to allow a second trial. In a letter sent to acting FDA Chairman Andrew von Eschenbach, committee chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) said he is concerned that the current trial, which involves about 30 hospitals around …

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) said he will expand his probe into organ transplant programs around the country. Grassley said failures such as the recent breakdowns at programs run by the University of California-Irvine and St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles indicate that more government oversight of the field may be needed. The UCI transplant program was stripped of its certification last month after news reports revealed that as many as 30 patients may …

A plan to trim Medicaid and Medicare spending proposed by the Senate Finance Committee last week could help hospital companies significantly, some are arguing. The proposal, crafted by Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA), would give hospitals some relief from specialty competition and also defer the planned 4.3 percent cut in physician Medicare reimbursement rates planned for 2006. The plan asks for $5.8 billion in cuts to Medicare and a $4.3 billion decrease in …

The suspicious June trades which led to a formal SEC inquiry into possible rules violations at HCA are part of a pattern at the company, some analysts say. HCA insiders have always had a knack for good timing and understanding "when their company's stock is undervalued and when it isn't." In the late 1990s, executives at the company sold heavily as the value of the company's shares rose, notes insider trading expert Michael Painchaud. It happened again in 2001 and 2002.

The …