health care system news from FierceHealthcare

In an effort to cope with the nationwide shortage of nurses, the Department of Veterans Affairs has decided to create its own group of nurses whose job it is to travel and work throughout the Read more...

Newark, N.J.-based Cathedral Healthcare System has agreed to pay $5.3 million to resolve charges that it inflated charges to boost its income from Medicare outlier programs. This is just the most Read more...

Heavily in debt and unable to pay its medical staff or vendors, start-up retail clinic operator CheckUps has closed down 23 clinics operating in Wal-Marts. The clinics were based in Florida and three Read more...

The U.S. Department of Justice has decided to investigate False Claims Act allegations against three New Jersey Hospitals. Whistleblowers have accused the hospitals of scheming to increase their Read more...

In theory, the health system already offers patients advisors and advocates like social workers and case managers. In practice, however, many families still feel overwhelmed, particularly when Read more...

> A new study looks at how children are frequently prescribed drugs developed and tested for adults. Article > Read more...

> Health plan Highmark is vigorously questioning a recent report noting large differences in reimbursements for cardiac surgeries in the Pittsburgh area. Read more...

Things were looking a bit ugly for Tenet, which was facing a huge potential liability over a suit claiming it deprived thousands of hospitals of their share of Medicare outlier payments. But, now Read more...

> Former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona told Congress this week he felt Administration officials prevented from accurately reporting scientific and medical information. Article

> When it comes to universal healthcare, Democratic presidential candidates seem to be sticking to practical approaches modeled on recent Massachusetts reforms. …

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Despite its having engaged in a massive Medicare scam costing the federal government at least $630 million, St. Barnabas Health Care System did not prevent other hospitals from getting fair reimbursement.

That's the conclusion of a federal judge, who ruled that despite the fraud, St. Barnabas had not engaged in racketeering. Two small hospitals in Maine and Colorado filed the suit, alleging St. Barnabas' over billing was so extreme it distorted CMS's Medicare reimbursement …

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