White House Shares Ownership Data For All Medicare-Certified Hospitals
Stat notes the move is part of the Biden administration's goal of improving transparency and boosting competition. The data span over 7,000 hospitals. In other news, the Wall Street Journal explains how hospitals' drug price discounts don't necessarily lead to lower patient bills.
Stat:
Biden Admin Shares Ownership Data For Thousands Of Hospitals
Citing its commitment to transparency and promoting competition, the Biden administration on Tuesday released a massive spreadsheet with ownership data on all Medicare-certified hospitals in the country. The new data span more than 7,000 hospitals and include details like whether the owner is an individual or an organization. (Bannow, 12/20)
On health care costs and debt —
The Wall Street Journal:
Many Hospitals Get Big Drug Discounts. That Doesn’t Mean Markdowns For Patients.
A decades-old federal program that offered big drug discounts to a small number of hospitals to help low-income patients now benefits some of the most successful nonprofit health systems in the U.S. Under the program, hospitals buy drugs at reduced prices and sell them to patients and their insurers for much more, often at facilities in affluent communities. (Mathews, Overberg, Walker and McGinty, 12/20)
KHN:
Hundreds Of US Hospitals Sue Patients Or Threaten Their Credit, A KHN Investigation Finds
Despite growing evidence of the harm caused by medical debt, hundreds of U.S. hospitals maintain policies to aggressively pursue patients for unpaid bills, using tactics such as lawsuits, selling patient accounts to debt buyers, and reporting patients to credit rating agencies, a KHN investigation shows. The collection practices are commonplace among all types of hospitals in all regions of the country, including public university systems, leading academic institutions, small community hospitals, for-profit chains, and nonprofit Catholic systems. (Levey, 12/21)
KHN:
Upended: How Medical Debt Changed Their Lives
Some lost their homes. Some emptied their retirement accounts. Some struggled to feed and clothe their families. Medical debt now touches more than 100 million people in America, as the U.S. health care system pushes patients into debt on a mass scale. Debtors are from all walks of life and all corners of the country. Here are their stories ― how they got into debt, what they’ve given up for it, and how they’re living with the burden. (Levey, Pattani, Noguchi and Sable-Smith, 12/21)
KHN:
The Case Of The Two Grace Elliotts: A Medical Billing Mystery
Earlier this year, Grace Elizabeth Elliott got a mysterious hospital bill for medical care she had never received. She soon discovered how far a clerical error can reach — even across a continent — and how frustrating it can be to fix. (Kreidler, 12/21)
In other health industry news —
Modern Healthcare:
Joint Commission Healthcare Quality Standards Overhauled
The Joint Commission is retiring 14% of its quality standards during the first round of a review process that seeks to refocus hospital safety and quality goals and decrease administrative burden, the healthcare accrediting organization will announce Tuesday. (Devereaux and Hartnett, 12/20)
Crain's Chicago Business:
Northwestern Medicine Plans $389M Expansion Of Chicago-Area Hospital
The Chicago-based healthcare system plans to add 96 inpatient beds, 84 of which would be medical and surgical beds and 12 of which would be intensive care unit beds, according to an application submitted to the Illinois Health Facilities & Services Review Board. Plans also include the relocation and expansion of the emergency department, as well as adding more imaging equipment and inpatient rehabilitation services. (Davis, 12/20)
WJCT News:
Baptist Health Opens A Six-Story Hospital In Fleming Island
Baptist Medical Center Clay opened a hospital in Fleming Island on Monday, the most recent — and largest— addition to the Baptist Clay Medical campus that originally launched in 2013. The full-service, six-story hospital is the culmination of two years of construction and a $234 million investment from Baptist Health. (Troncoso, 12/20)
AP:
Women Sexually Abused By ICU Nurse Sue Colorado Hospital
Two women who say a nurse sexually assaulted them while they were unconscious in intensive care filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Colorado hospital where they were being treated, alleging the hospital’s management didn’t do enough to prevent the abuse. (Slevin, 12/21)
Kansas City Star:
The Crisis In Caring For Alzheimer’s Patients At Home
Everyone who knew Ellen DeFoe, back before Alzheimer’s turned her brain against her, thinks of her the same: She was the kind one. Ellen, with her hair swept up and lipstick always immaculate, was the one who would help anyone — bring food, run an errand, clean a neighbor’s house without a second thought. (Adler, 12/21)
