Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'It Was Beautiful' Once Upon A Time, Now LA Hospital Becomes Latest Casualty In Financially Uncertain Landscape
Los Angeles Times: After Years Of Financial Woes, Los Angeles Hospital Running Out Of Prayers
Many years ago, Gilbert San Juan watched as a wrecking ball demolished the old St. Vincent Medical Center. An elevator operator and painter there at the time, San Juan wanted to fetch some old furniture from the building, but backed down after seeing the massive, threatening ball hanging from a crane. Still, he knew he would enter its doors again, when the new hospital near downtown Los Angeles sprung just yards away from the old. For 47 years, San Juan worked in that facility. (Reyes-Velarde, 1/12)
Modern Healthcare: Dignity Health Loses Out-Of-Network Billing Lawsuit
A California appellate court has rejected Dignity Health's claim that L.A. Care Health Plan, a large Medicaid plan, owes it tens of millions of dollars in out-of-network bills for inpatient care following stabilization of medical emergencies. The Second District Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld a lower court's summary dismissal of Dignity's lawsuit alleging that the health plan owed Dignity's Northridge Hospital Medical Center higher than state-set rates. Northridge is not within the plan's network of contracted providers. (Meyer, 1/10)
Modern Healthcare: How State Groups Are Working To Lower Healthcare Prices
A RAND report on hospital pricing last May pushed many employer purchasing groups into action. The report infuriated self-insured employers who previously didn’t know how much they were paying, at least partly due to gag clauses in contracts between providers and insurers barring disclosure of negotiated rates even to plan sponsors, said Gloria Sachdev, CEO of the Employers’ Forum of Indiana. (Meyer, 1/11)
Boston Globe: Children’s Hospital, Family Of Justina Pelletier Bring Case To Court
Justina Pelletier was 14 in 2013 when she landed in a locked psychiatric unit at Boston Children’s Hospital, temporarily a ward of the state. Her parents stood accused of medical child abuse as they clashed with the hospital’s doctors over her diagnosis and care. Now, nearly seven years after their high-profile standoff, the Pelletiers’ malpractice lawsuit against the Children’s providers who treated their daughter is slated to go on trial Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court — pending a late appeal by Children’s to delay the proceedings until a judge sorts out questions about alleged civil rights violations involving the hospital. (Lazar, 1/12)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: RSV: Wisconsin Hospitals See High Number Of Children With Severe Respiratory Virus
Colton would join a wave of young patients in the intensive care unit at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, suffering from an illness called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The virus accounted for roughly one-third of the patients in the hospital's 72-bed ICU, said Michael Meyer, medical director of the pediatric intensive care unit. (Johnson, 1/10)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: After Waiting In Froedtert ER, Milwaukee Woman Leaves And, Later, Dies
Tashonna Ward, a 25-year-old day care teacher from Milwaukee, died Jan. 2 while trying to find a doctor to help her. Ward's family is seeking answers from Froedtert Hospital, where she spent more than two hours in the emergency department before she left to find quicker care and, later, collapsed. She had reported chest pain and tightness of breath. (Linnane, 1/11)
Georgia Health News: Emory, LifePoint Teaming Up To Run Hospital In Columbus
A Columbus hospital is now owned and operated by a new joint venture between Emory Healthcare and Tennessee-based LifePoint Health. With the agreement, announced this week, Emory would extend its affiliation with the 376-bed St. Francis Hospital in the west Georgia city. The joint venture would be a for-profit enterprise, with Emory supplying the clinical expertise, programs and training while LifePoint and St. Francis provide the management skills. (Miller, 1/10)
