As Hospital Landscape Changes, Worries Over Patients’ Access To Care Reemerge
A Connecticut lawmaker says the time is ripe to look at regulations surrounding hospitals so that patients don't suffer. Meanwhile, in Florida, Adventist Health System will pay $2 million to settle allegations it used leftover chemotherapy drugs, a judge rules on a certificate of need dispute between a nursing home and the state Agency for Health Care Administration, and legislators are looking to permanently alter a law that gave a special status to a group home with a history of abuse.
The Connecticut Mirror:
Change To Hospital Regulation Again Looms – But Direction Unclear
Health care is changing in Connecticut: Once-independent hospitals are joining larger health systems. Physicians are joining hospitals or larger practices. And some observers worry about what that means for people’s access to care, particularly after recent cuts to services at one Eastern Connecticut hospital. (Levin Becker, 2/24)
Health News Florida:
Adventist To Pay $2M To Settle Allegations It Used Leftover Chemo Drugs
Adventist Health System will pay more than $2 million dollars to settle allegations it used leftover chemotherapy drugs. The Justice Department says Florida Hospital’s parent company gave single-dose chemotherapy drugs to multiple patients. It happened at Central Florida hospitals from 2007 to 2011. (Aboraya, 2/23)
News Service Of Florida:
Judge Sides With AHCA In Nursing Home Approval
An administrative law judge Monday sided with the state Agency for Health Care Administration in a certificate of need dispute about building a 120-bed nursing home in Polk County. In the certificate-of-need process, the state must sign off on new or expanded health-care facilities. It has become a high-profile issue during the past year, particularly because House Republican leaders have sought to end certificates of needs for hospitals. (2/23)
ProPublica:
'Monopoly' Status Of For-Profit Group Home Reconsidered
Florida legislators are looking to end what one lawmaker calls a “monopoly” written into state law that benefits a for-profit company with a history of abuse at group homes for the disabled. AdvoServ’s sprawling Carlton Palms Educational Center in Central Florida houses nearly 30 percent of all state residents who are in group homes because of developmental and intellectual disabilities and challenging behavior. Roughly 200 adults and children live there. (Vogell, 2/23)
