Latest Morning Briefing Stories
KHN Used CMS Readmission Rates And Patients’ Income For Analysis
The examination found that hospitals with the largest share of poor patients were 2.7 times as likely to have high readmission rates.
Medicare Penalties For Readmissions Could Be A Tough Hit On Hospitals Serving The Poor
Federal officials are seeking to make sure patients get the care they need after discharge. But the new policy is likely to disproportionately affect hospitals that treat the most low-income patients, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis.
The Revolving Door Of Readmissions
Ralph Rust’s decade-long struggle to stay out of hospitals involves some of the factors that cause patients to be readmitted frequently. For years he was hospitalized as often as three times a month.
Interactive: Readmission Rates And Poverty Levels For Individual Hospitals
This interactive chart compares the heart failure readmission rates and patient population poverty levels for more than 3,000 hospitals.
Feds Face Challenges In Launching U.S. Health Exchange
Technical, political and financial obstacles loom as clock ticks toward 2014 deadline for operations.
Both Perry and Obama can claim political victories with the Medicaid waiver the feds granted to the Lone Star state. But public hospitals have the most to gain from the new system.
Hospitals Try To Control Readmissions, Even When It Hurts Profits
Patients with multiple chronic conditions benefit from a new clinic at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. But the hospital says it bears too much of the costs to keep discharged patients from returning.
Hospitals Adopt Drug Industry Sales Strategy
“Sales calls” on doctors’ offices help to fill beds, but also elicit criticism.
Coverage Of Bariatric Surgery Is Spotty For Obese Kids
Experts in pediatric obesity say that caution is warranted, but some physicians see the operations as offering a safe chance to take off significant weight and avoid harmful disease.
Berwick: Don’t Blame Medicare, Medicaid. It’s The Delivery System
The former Medicare administrator says the U.S. health care system “isn’t built for modern times,” but the health care law will help rein in costs and improve care.
When ‘Critical Access’ Hospitals Are Not So Critical
A Medicare program intended to preserve “critical access” to rural hospitals may have grown beyond that goal, possibly keeping open hospitals that should close.
Health Law May Accelerate Growth In Urgent Care Centers
Crowded emergency rooms and a lack of primary care doctors have fueled recent expansions. But the drive to lower costs is also a factor and could bring more customers under the overhaul.
Florida Grappling With Questions About Taxes For Indigent Care
A special panel appointed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott has been meeting to figure out a way to scale back what taxpayers at the local level contribute to hospital costs in some parts of the state.
Calif. Hospital Report Cards Likely To Go Away
Most major hospitals in California give data voluntarily to independent analysts who publish consumer-friendly reports. But the California Hospital Association says it is withdrawing from the project.
Weighing Berwick’s Top Five Accomplishments At CMS
Dr. Donald Berwick’s 15-month tenure at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services was marked by ambitious efforts to improve the nation’s health care system.
Hospitals Gear Hiring To Health Law And Industry Changes
Defying the economy, hospitals are hiring, but many are looking more for administrative staff and clerks than care givers.
Unconventional Clinic Providing Safety Net For Women
Marilyn Ringstaff’s clinic fills a void for low-income uninsured women in Rome, Georgia.
Both Patients And Physicians Can Suffer When Test Results Aren’t Reported
The push for better coordination of patient care, including the adoption of electronic medical records, should help improve the delivery of test results to patients from doctors and to doctors from those who perform the tests.
Colleges Face Challenges With Influx of Military Veterans
The demand for new services rises as veterans flock to schools around the country and need help for health, psychological and social issues that college officials generally haven’t dealt with.
Committed to Randol: One Family’s Long-Term Care Journey
As a child, Randol Brock had a high fever that caused brain damage. Now 52, there are two things Randol loves more than anything else: tractors and his sister-in-law Doris, who helps take care of him.
