Modern Healthcare back issues from January 2008:
Hunting for prospects; Despite credit crunch, SPACs still seek investments.(Strictly Finance)(special purpose acquisition company)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Cinda Becker Attention all healthcare entrepreneurs: There are at least eight shell companies on the public market in desperate search of a worthy healthcare company to buy. Investors are always looking for creative and innovative ways to put their money to ...
New lawsuit, same complaint; Rival accuses Aultman of making payments to broker.(The Week in Healthcare)(Aultman Health Foundation )
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Gregg Blesch An old attack is back, sort of, for a one-hospital system in Canton, Ohio, that a few years ago faced a lawsuit alleging it paid bounties to brokers who delivered group clients to its subsidiaries' managed-care plans. That time, the attack ...
The year of the bull (or bear)? Experts predict that in 2008, the healthcare industry's major issues will largely be determined by the nation's economy.(Special Report)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Cinda Becker Prevailing wisdom is that no one will have the political appetite in 2008 to make a significant dent in the healthcare industry's perennially full plate of issues. Of course, with a critical election on the nation's agenda, everybody will be ...
Still worried about money; Fiscal woes lead ACHE survey of execs' concerns.(The Week in Healthcare)(American College of Healthcare Executives)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Melanie Evans Financial challenges, such as rising labor costs and bad debt, again ranked as the top concern for hospital chief executive officers, according to a yearly survey by the American College of Healthcare Executives. Providing care to uninsured ...
Other voices.(money received from tobacco industry was not spend on tobacco prevention)(Editorial)(Brief article)
Jan 07, 2008 ... "Connecticut has received almost $1 billion as a result of a 1998 settlement with the tobacco industry, and spent most of that money on projects that had nothing to do with preventing smokingostensibly the purpose of the windfall. In fact, Connecticut did not set aside any settlement money ...
It's our job; Industry leaders need to lead a sea change in care.(From the C-Suite)(Viewpoint essay)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Michael Dowling Every four years, when it's time to choose a new chief executive for our nation, healthcare consistently ranks near the top of voters' concerns. Despite the merits or demerits of the various plans being proposed by this year's crop of candidates, the ...
Devices: Under a price squeeze.(Special Report)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Shawn Rhea Hospitals and physicians will continue to feel challenged this year by a growing list of regulatory and safety troubles within the medical-device sector. Chief among those challenges is product-safety concerns affecting how doctors decide to treat patients and ...
Construction: Patient, employee friendly.(Special Report)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Andis Robeznieks In 2008, healthcare construction trends toward the use of natural light and natural or energy-saving materials will continue to pick up steam, experts say, along with efforts to upgrade staff amenities as facilities become even more of a tool to recruit ...
Insurers: Rust never sleeps.(Special Report)(health insurance)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Rebecca Vesely With healthcare premiums expected to continue to outpace workers' earnings and inflation, payers won't be content to wait for the next president to solve the healthcare crisis. Expect "affordability'' and "value'' to be as big as buzzwords "access'' and ...
Legal: Make friends with the feds.(Special Report)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Gregg Blesch Healthcare lawyers say their clients should set aside more time to spend with their friends in the government. Last year, hospitals saw a mixed victory for the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust enforcers, with the commission condemning the ...
Specialty hospitals: more battles.(Special Report)(Brief article)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Jessica Zigmond Physician-owned hospital advocates plan to address the issue of quality in 2008 as the segment braces itself for another year of political pressure from its opponents on Capitol Hill. As 2008 begins, the physician-owned hospital segment finds ...
Manor Care deal leads to big paydays; Wilensky gets almost $800,000; CEO Ormond receives more than $77 million.(The Week in Healthcare)(leveraged buyout by Carlyle Group L.P.)(Gail Wilensky )
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Cinda Becker With the closing of the heavily contested $6.3 billion leveraged buyout by the Carlyle Group of long-term-care provider Manor Care, notable healthcare economist Gail Wilensky walked away with $790,110 in consideration for the 18,000 stock options she held, ...
Construction survey open.(The Week in Healthcare)
Jan 07, 2008 ... Modern Healthcare's 29th annual Construction & Design Survey is now available. To participate, please download a copy at modernhealthcare.com/surveys. Responses are due Feb. 4 by 5 p.m. CST. Selected ...
Most drug freebies go to well-off: study; Research suggests race, gender a factor, too, but drug group calls research flawed.(The Week in Healthcare)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Shawn Rhea A new study showing low-income, uninsured patients receive few of the $16 billion worth of free drug samples given away yearly by pharmaceutical companies may do little to change the way healthcare providers distribute drug samples, according to some ...
Looking for more changes; Lobbyists, docs find good, bad in new Medicare bill.(The Week in Healthcare)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Jennifer Lubell Hospital industry lobbyists this year are seeking to tie up the loose ends that the Medicare bill signed by the president in late 2007 left dangling. There are several moratoriums hospitals want to see extended this year that could affect the ...
Report finds problems with HealthMarkets companies.(Late News)(Brief article)
Jan 07, 2008 ... Insurance regulators from 35 states and the District of Columbia say they have found numerous deficiencies at HealthMarkets companies, which include MEGA Life and Health Insurance Co., Mid-West National Life Insurance Co. of Tennessee and the Chesapeake Life Insurance Co. Problems were ...
Calif. ruling orders up hitch for employer mandate; Citing ERISA, court sides with S.F. restaurant association on mandatory insurance.(The Week in Healthcare)(Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Rebecca Vesely A new court ruling has cast into further doubt the notion that municipalities and states can require employers to pay for healthcare for their workers, and could foil efforts, such as in California, to extend coverage to millions of uninsured. ...
Four out the door; N.Y., Ohio, Ore.,Wash. bolt UAN over SEIU concerns.(The Week in Healthcare)(United American Nurses)(Service Employees International Union)
Jan 07, 2008 ... Byline: Vince Galloro and Andis Robeznieks The United American Nurses has put some distance between itself and the Service Employees International Union, but not enough, it seems, for four state associations that have left the UAN. Within a few days of each other, the ...
On the move...(News Makers)
Jan 07, 2008 ... ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTERS Raymond Watts, a physician, was selected to become interim CEO of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System after David Hoidal resigns, which was expected to happen late last week, the system announced. Hoidal is leaving to spend more time ...
Sisters' Colo. bid clears hurdle; Meanwhile, SSM to split St. Louis into two regions.(The Week in Healthcare)(Sisters of Charity )(SSM Health Care)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Gregg Blesch Two Catholic health systems start 2008 moving forward with plans to shuffle their assets. Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System, Lenexa, Kan., cleared a potential hurdle in a disputed bid to become the sole sponsor of Exempla Healthcare in ...
We'd like to hear from you; New column gives senior-level executives a forum for sharing ideas with peers.(Opinions Editorials)(Editorial)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: David Burda Readers of Modern Healthcare know that our primary audience is senior-level executives working in all sectors of the healthcare industry. Each week, we decide what we think they need to know to fulfill our three-pronged mission to inform, educate and ...
Outliers; Asides & insides.(blog postings against Essent Healthcare Inc.)(MedAssets CEO John Bardis named leader of the U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling team)(Meriter Hospital commercial claiming to have the best newborn intensive-care unit )
Jan 07, 2008 ... Blogger wins right to keep on criticizing Essent-anonymously A blogger who has targeted Essent Healthcare and one of its hospitals for ridicule can remain anonymous, a Texas appeals court judge has ruled, unless the Nashville-based company can prove the postings have damaged the ...
CMS hires HIPAA watchdog; PricewaterhouseCoopers' dual roles may vex providers.(The Week in Healthcare)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 )
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Joseph Conn The CMS has hired New York-based consulting and auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to perform compliance reviews at healthcare organizations, looking to see how well they meet their obligations to protect healthcare information under the 1996 Health ...
PATIENT SAFETY: FOCUSING ON `NEVER'.(Special Report)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Jean DerGurahian Patient-safety issues will pick up steam this year, building on several efforts begun by states and hospitals alike. Last year, hospitals in Massachusetts and Minnesota announced they would no longer bill patients for care related to specific, ...
Docs get six-month reprieve ... ... but experts dubious lasting Medicare fix in offing.(Physician Affairs)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Jennifer Lubell Hopes are dim among lobbyists for physicians that Congress will enact a permanent fix to the physician Medicare fee schedule in 2008, despite a still-looming cut that faces the industry in July. At the end of 2007, President Bush signed a $4.6 ...
HHS won't target La. imaging center for kickback concerns.(Late News)(Brief article)
Jan 07, 2008 ... A physician proposing to open an imaging center with his brother in an area of Louisiana ravaged by Hurricane Katrina won't be targeted by HHS' inspector general's office, even though the plan under ordinary circumstances might run afoul of anti-kickback rules, according to an advisory ...
Federal monitor gives OK to New Jersey university.(Late News)(University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey)(Brief article)
Jan 07, 2008 ... The federal monitor overseeing the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has given a clean bill of health to the "much-changed institution,'' saying the monitorship will not be extended. Also, the U.S. attorney in Newark, N.J., will seek dismissal of the criminal complaint ...
HHS urged to keep Michigan infection-control program open.(Late News)(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
Jan 07, 2008 ... Proponents of healthcare quality initiatives are calling on HHS to reverse its decision to shutter an infection-control program under way in intensive-care units at hospitals across Michigan. The program involves a five-step infection-control checklist developed at Johns Hopkins University ...
Prospect's SEC report on hold; System says delay caused by recent Alta purchase.(The Week in Healthcare)(Prospect Medical Holdings)(Alta Healthcare System)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Rebecca Vesely Prospect Medical Holdings, which manages medical care of 240,000 HMO enrollees, delayed filing its annual financial report with the Securities and Exchange Commission because of financial restatements of its recent purchase of a four-hospital group in Los ...
SCHEDULING CHALLENGES; With overhauled Form 990, hospitals are being asked for more specifics on governance, pay, perks, subsidized care.
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Melanie Evans Policymakers and watchdogs who have long relied on guesswork to monitor healthcare's not-for-profit hospitals won't be left to speculate much longer. New federal rules, effective in 2008 and 2009, require detailed disclosure on governance policies, ...
LETTERS.(Opinions Letters)
Jan 07, 2008 ... Infections' deadly costs Your cover story on the implications of hospitals being paid twice for medical errors underscores the need for further research to determine the financial impact of cutting reimbursement for nosocomial infections ("Profitable complications,'' Dec. 17, p ....
Joint Commission task force created to address staff issues.(Late News)(Brief article)
Jan 07, 2008 ... The Joint Commission created a task force to address implementation issues and controversies connected to its revised Standard MS.1.20, which was approved this past June and is intended to "support and reinforce a productive working relationship'' between a hospital's staff and governing ...
Finance: Kiss the market goodbye.(Special Report)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Cinda Becker Through no fault of its own, the hospital industry may experience a credit squeeze in the next year, ending an era of narrow credit spreads that produced an exceptionally accessible capital market for even the financially weakest hospitals. ...
For-profits: A holding pattern.(Special Report)( for-profit hospital companies)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Vince Galloro The year 2008 will probably resemble a holding pattern for most of the for-profit hospital companies, hospital stock analysts say. The election will forestall changes in Medicare reimbursements and a solution to expanding access to health insurance, ...
Not-for-profits: The accountability reformation.(Special Report)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Melanie Evans Tax-exempt hospitals learned less than two weeks before the new year when and how federal regulators will change rules for publicly reporting community benefits. Ongoing scrutiny of the sector's operations and governance led to hefty new requirements ...
IT: No time for a revolution.(Special Report)(Brief article)
Jan 07, 2008; ... Byline: Joseph Conn For all the talk in recent years about "transformational change being driven by healthcare information technology, the coming IT revolution in healthcare won't arrive in 2008, according to Stephen Lieber, head of the Chicago-based not-for-profit Healthcare ...
ACHE recognizes four; While Harborview wins McGaw prize.(The Week in Healthcare)(American College of Healthcare Executives)
Jan 14, 2008; ... Byline: Melanie Evans ***** Correction: A Jan. 14 photo caption (p. 20) incorrectly identified the association that co-sponsors the Foster G. McGaw prize. The American Hospital Association, along with Baxter International Foundation and Cardinal Health Foundation, ...
Dodging LTAC moratorium; Medicare bill exempts projects already under way.(The Week in Healthcare)
Jan 14, 2008; ... Byline: Jessica Zigmond ***** Correction: In a Jan. 14 story on long-term acute-care hospitals (p. 8), a quote attributed to Ed Cooper, president and chief executive officer of Acuityhealthcare, included an incorrect dollar figure. It should have said, "At least 10% ...
Dual duties; Not-for-profit execs land on board.(Legacy Hospital Partners )
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Melanie Evans The board of newly formed Legacy Hospital Partners includes some well-connected current and former not-for-profit healthcare insiders. Among Legacy's directors: the chief executive officers of Sentara Healthcare and Texas Health Resources and ...
More gain-sharing guidance; Inspector general's opinions point to more safe zones.(The Week in Healthcare)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Gregg Blesch Two new advisory opinions that HHS' inspector general's office published last week add to an increasingly clear road map of the right and wrong ways that hospitals and physicians can share cost savings without getting into trouble for kickbacks or cut-rate ...
Device inventor returns.(The Week in Healthcare)(Swedish Covenant Hospital appointed James McCormick )(Brief article)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Gregg Blesch Swedish Covenant Hospital, Chicago, rehired a former president and chief executive officer to fill a new role as chief science officer. James McCormick will direct research into the ways the healing process is affected by all facets of the hospital ...
On the move ...(News Makers)(LifeCare Holdings appointed Wayne McAlister)(WellPoint Inc. appointed Brian Sassi)(John Sideras stepped down from MetroHealth System )
Jan 21, 2008 ... HOSPITALS, SYSTEMS John Sideras, 51, stepped down as president and CEO of MetroHealth System in Cleveland. His departure stems from the board's annual review of the system's leadership model, according to a MetroHealth news release. In lieu of the president and CEO position, the ...
Briefly.(Late News)(AMBAC Financial Group Inc's rating)(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' changes to its national patient-safety goals)(Brief article)
Jan 21, 2008 ... Fitch drops Ambac's rating to AA from AAA Fitch Ratings downgraded bond insurer Ambac Financial Group by two notches to AA from AAA. The ratings remain on rating watch negative and follow Ambac's decision to suspend efforts to raise $1 billion in capital. Fitch placed Ambac on ...
Sharing the load; Let individuals, government, employers split costs: poll.(The Week in Healthcare)(Survey)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Jennifer Lubell A new public opinion survey bolsters the case for putting the cost of healthcare on individuals, government and employers. The survey, The Public's Views on Health Care Reform in the 2008 Presidential Election, was released last week by the ...
After Triad, a chain is born; Former Triad leaders form Legacy Hospital Partners, aiming to make joint ventures with not-for-profits looking for capital.
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Vince Galloro Denny Shelton is getting the band back together. Shelton, the former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Triad Hospitals, is the nonexecutive chairman of a new hospital company, Legacy Hospital Partners, which launched last week. The ...
Execs' convictions overturned.(Late News)(John Celona's case against Roger Williams Medical Center's Robert Urciuoli and Frances Driscoll)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Gregg Blesch A federal appeals court overturned the convictions of two former Rhode Island hospital executives accused of giving a state senator a job in exchange for pursuing the hospital's interests. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the trial ...
Outliers; Asides & insides.(Lincoln Hospital has violated Medicare's rule)(report on circumcision)(rules for medical journals)
Jan 21, 2008 ... Hospital's bit of holiday cheer turns into a big legal turkey When HHS' inspector general's office asked the Lincoln (Neb.) Surgical Hospital for its staffing schedule for November 2006, the seven-bed physician-owned hospital complied. Staff sent everything over that was ...
LETTERS.(Opinions Letters)
Jan 21, 2008 ... Hospitals are focused on safety Your recent cover story ("Profitable complications,'' Dec. 17, 2007, p. 6) and editorial ("The start of something big,'' Dec. 24/31, 2007) leave an impression that the men and women who are front-line caregivers in America's hospitals are not ...
Einstein CEO joins board; Appointment ties exec to two GPOs.(The Week in Healthcare)(Barry Freedman's appointment at Managed Health Care Associates)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Shawn Rhea Barry Freedman, president and chief executive officer of Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, was named to the board of for-profit group purchasing organization Managed Health Care Associates, a company that may compete with Albert Einstein ...
Corrections & clarifications.
Jan 21, 2008 ... A Jan. 14 photo caption (p. 20) incorrectly identified the association that co-sponsors the Foster G. McGaw prize. The ...
Taking a hard look; Insurers increase scrutiny of imaging providers.(Payers and Purchasers)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Shawn Rhea Earlier this month, the embattled bill to extend funding of Medicare and other federally sponsored health insurance programs finally became law. Stripped from the bill's final version, however, was a provision that would have required imaging professionals and ...
HSAs: a risky strategy; Changes needed to avoid avalanche of medical debt.(From the C-Suite)(health savings accounts )
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Trevor Fetter In the midst of the housing boom, policymakers and consumers viewed subprime mortgages as innovations that would help more families achieve the American dream of home ownership. Unfortunately, when the boom became a bubble, many found themselves unprepared ...
HHS' New Year's resolutions; Leavitt's priorities: Fix SGR, increase health IT.(The Week in Healthcare)(Department of Health and Human Services)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Jennifer Lubell Healthcare providers are skeptical that the Bush administration and Congress will be able to drum up a viable funding source to pay for a fix to Medicare's physician formula, one of HHS' goals for the year. In announcing the department's ...
Prices spike in 2007; Hikes accelerate at hospitals; doc prices resume climb.(The Week in Healthcare)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Cinda Becker A surge in hospital service prices in the last quarter of 2007 could be worrisome, especially with an overall economic recession now on everyone's mind. Price inflation in 2007 for hospitals and physicians, according to two mainstay federal ...
As U.S. toots its own corn ... ... living a healthy lifestyle winds up taking a supersized back seat.(Opinions Editorials)(Editorial)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Neil Mclaughlin As we move deeper into an election year, the talk about healthcare reform no doubt will intensify. One thing you can also be sure of is that Americans will be castigated for their unhealthy habits. Now no sensible citizen would dismiss the ...
Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)
Jan 21, 2008 ... "Two new studies presented the most comprehensive evidence yet that the lack of health insurance is seriously harmful to a patient's health. ... Researchers at Harvard Medical School ... found that uninsured near-elderly people got sicker at a faster rate than comparable people with ...
Democratic lawmakers create task force; Trio of former healthcare professionals ready to push IT, disease-management bills.(The Week in Healthcare)(Lois Capps, Allyson Schwartz and Jason Altmire)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Matthew DoBias Three former healthcare professionals turned Democratic lawmakers are forming a congressional task force with the intent of pushing through previously stuck legislation. Their agenda is heavy with information technology provisions, preventive-care measures ...
The joint appeal; Froedtert, Columbia St. Mary's in Milwaukee choose joint operating agreement.(The Week in Healthcare)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Melanie Evans and Jessica Zigmond Last week's announcement about two Milwaukee health systems creating an organization together spotlights joint operating agreements, which experts have described as complicated deals that typically do not top the list of preferred ...
Exec. search survey open.(The Week in Healthcare)
Jan 21, 2008 ... Modern Healthcare's third annual survey of healthcare executive search firms is now open for participation. For a copy of this online-only survey, please contact Special Projects/Research Editor Rebecca Mielcarski at ...
Bush plan a Medicaid boon?(Late News)(Brief article)
Jan 21, 2008; ... Byline: Matthew Dobias An economic stimulus package being framed by White House advisers and congressional leaders could include a provision to temporarily increase Medicaid payments to states as a way to cover a potential boost in enrollment brought on by a sluggish economy. ...
M&A TREND: NO BIG DEAL; Tight credit could make it tougher to finance large for-profit acquisitions like those that made headlines the past two years.(Special Report)(Report)
Jan 21, 2008 ... Byline: Melanie Evans and Vince Galloro In 2007, for the second straight year, a huge corporate hospital deal dominated merger and acquisition activity. In 2008, analysts expect for-profit chains to take a back seat to not-for-profits, as the credit crunch that began ...
Healthcare's best places to work.(The Week in Healthcare)
Jan 28, 2008 ... Modern Healthcare has created a new awards and honors program called "Modern Healthcare's Best Places to Work in Healthcare.'' The new program, which kicks off today, recognizes workplaces in healthcare that enable employees to perform at their optimum level to provide patients and ...
POWER STRUGGLE; Energy consumption, while not a top-tier concern for hospitals, has gained attention as execs look at economics of conservation.(Construction Digest)
Jan 28, 2008; ... Byline: Andis Robeznieks Like SUV owners who find it increasingly painful to fill up their tanks, healthcare executives are starting to take a harder look at their organizations' energy consumption. Historically, energy conservation hasn't been given much ...
Tough choices ahead; Candidates ignore pain of needed cuts to health costs.(Healthcare Opinion Leaders Survey)(Survey)
Jan 28, 2008; ... Byline: Dallas Salisbury The consensus of employers, government officials, academics, health consumers, presidents and presidential candidates over the past 70 years has been that the U.S. healthcare "nonsystem'' is broken and needs to be fixed. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's ...
Patients are a virtue; Customer service focus will improve the bottom line.(Charles S. Lauer)
Jan 28, 2008; ... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Not enough people in this industry seem to care enough about the patient experience in their institutions. Spending on the simple things that can make being in the hospital just a little bit friendlier and less unsettling is seen as superfluous at a time ...