kaiser

"My biggest fear is when a kidney comes up, they're going to say, 'Your condition is so deteriorated, we're not going to give you one,'" says a patient at Kaiser's transplant program. Three patients and their families filed lawsuits against the HMO Thursday alleging that problems at its San Francisco transplant center caused them serious harm. One of the patients, Ronald Hayes, died while awaiting a transplant. On Wednesday the health plan said it would pay for patients to have operations …

> In a ruling with interesting implications, a judge said that a Milwaukee day trader could not sue a hospital over the rates it charges uninsured patients because his lack of insurance coverage was a matter of personal choice. Article

> CMS announced that it has finally selected BioScrip to run the Part B drugs Competitive Acquisition Program. Industry insiders don't think much of it as a business opportunity. …

The Los Angeles Times continues its hard-hitting series on possible wrongdoing at Kaiser's kidney transplant program in San Francisco. The paper reports that Kaiser doctors turned away 25 kidneys offered by the University of California San Francisco that were a perfect match for donors. After initially denying that the incidents took place, Kaiser officials confirmed the story. Critics argue that the HMO's poorly executed plan to consolidate kidney transplant cases in San Francisco …

A new venture founded by Boston giant Partners is focused on implementing a set of strategic programs studying delivery care to patients outside of the medical setting. The name, however, may have a touch of trouble distinguishing itself from efforts at Kaiser (HealthConnect) or in the U.K. (Connecting for Health). It's called the Connected Health Initiative. Article

This week there is confirmation that employer-based health insurance is withering on the vine. Kaiser FF reports that only 60% of Americans received insurance from an employer, down from 69% just five years ago at the height of the boom. Most of those who've lost coverage are in smaller firms, but of course most people work for small firms, and even large firms are pushing more costs …