Health care providers feel pinch
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscription), WI -
When patients come to a hospital run by Glendale-based Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, the institution tries "to identify eligibility and what benefits they have and inform them what their estimated responsibility will be," said Monica Ricca, vice president of revenue cycle. "We then ask if they would like to pay today or bring it in at point of procedure."
2006-12-31
2006: Year of chaos and transition
Calgary Sun, Canada -
The year coming to an end was one of intensified conflict in the Mideast that led to a political rebuke at home for George W. Bush's handling of the increasingly bloody mayhem in Iraq. As the war neared its four-year mark, Bush was leaning towards sending still more troops.
2006-12-29
Health care disparity focus of convocation
Beloit Daily News, WI -
The annual Martin Luther King Convocation at Beloit College brings the community and its leaders together to reflect on the condition of equal rights in this country and on the life of Dr. King. President John E. Burris, student leaders and special guests will pay tribute to the slain civil rights leader prior to the talk by Dr. Christian. This year, once again, the 60 member Martin Luther King Youth Choir, prepared by Carol Hendrix, director of music at Emmanuel Baptist Church, will open the program.
2006-12-28
Medical and senior care often in the year's news
Hillsboro Free Press, KS -
Two native Hillsboroans have been hired at Greenhaw Pharmacy as owner Lou Greenhaw prepares to retire from the business. Eric Driggers, a 1997 HHS grad, came on as a staff pharmacist in May 2005 but entered into a partnership arrangement with Greenhaw this year. Sara (Janzen) Raugust, a 2001 HHS grad, started full-time as a new pharmacist this month.
2006-12-27
Helping folks live at home
The Casper Star Tribune, WY -
Virginia Snow of Torrington reaches into her bedroom dresser while sitting on her "scooter," which she uses to maneuver her way around her home. Childhood spinal tumors have left Virginia unable to walk, but homemaking services offered through the local senior center and Meals on Wheels have allowed her to stay in her own home. Photo by Kerry Huller, Star-Tribune
2006-12-20
Lunch and learn: Care management
knox.VillageSoup.com, ME -
The luncheon menu usually includes a choice of two entrees, a starch, vegetable, tossed salad, bread, desserts and beverages. The Dec. 27 luncheon prepared by Chef Brian Whitten at Senior Spectrum's Cohen Center in Hallowell will feature a choice of meat load with gravy or baked chicken. Although the buffet line opens at 11:30 a.m. please come early and enjoy a bit of conversation with other luncheon guests. The suggested donation for the special holiday luncheon buffet is $4.50 for those over 60 years of age or those who are disabled and $5.50 for anyone under 60 years of age. You will be glad you joined us for great food and great company!
2006-12-19
Comprehensive New Jersey Health Care Almanac Finds Systemic
Yahoo! News (press release) -
Among some of the more telling trends reported in the Almanac: * New Jersey has substantial hospital bed capacity. In 2004, New Jersey had about 13 percent more maintained hospital beds per 1,000 residents than Connecticut. If New Jersey were to "adopt" Connecticut's ratio of 2.23 maintained beds per 1000 residents, it would reduce the number of maintained beds in the state by 2,600. Since the average hospital in New Jersey maintains about 250 beds, New Jersey could close the equivalent of about 10 "average" hospitals to mirror Connecticut's ratio of hospital beds. * The number of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and freestanding imaging centers has increased dramatically over the past 15 years. There are 95 state-licensed ASCs in New Jersey, and 181 Medicare-certified ASCs in New Jersey. The state does not require licensure of ASCs that are entirely physician-owned and that have only a single operating room -- implying that over 85 ASCs are operating with minimal or no state oversight. * New Jersey has higher than average rates of hospital admissions, and patients receive a higher than average number of services once admitted. New Jersey has had a consistently higher rate of hospitalizations per 1,000 residents from 2001 through 2004, compared to the US average and Connecticut average. This higher rate applies to all types of patients by insurance type, including uninsured patients. In 2004 alone, the data shows that there would have been 134,630 fewer inpatient admissions in the state if New Jersey physicians hospitalized patients at the same rate as their colleagues in Connecticut. At an average all-payer "per- admission" cost of $8,672 in 2004, this higher hospitalization rate caused New Jersey residents to pay what amounts to a $1.2 billion "excess hospitalization surcharge" over Connecticut residents. This is almost 10 percent of total patient revenue all New Jersey hospitals received that year. * New Jersey Medicare beneficiaries in the last six months of life see more physicians than Medicare beneficiaries in every other state in the nation. Specifically, New Jersey's rate of physician visits is about 43% higher than the national Medicare average and almost two-thirds higher than the rate in Connecticut. * New Jersey's Medicare beneficiaries with serious chronic illness nearing the end of life are among the "most treated" patients in the country. Citing research conducted by the Dartmouth Atlas Project, 25% of all New Jersey Medicare decedents were admitted to the ICU during the hospitalization in which they died -- placing New Jersey first among all states in providing this level of intensity in medical services. This underscores an unusually heavy reliance on specialist physician services in caring for chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries in New Jersey, a population that, in several other states, are cared for predominantly by primary care physicians even though they are equally as seriously ill as the beneficiaries who happen to live in New Jersey. * Subsidy payments to New Jersey hospitals for provision of charity care do not necessarily correlate to the amount of care actually provided. The regional comparisons in the Almanac show that, for example, Monmouth-Ocean hospitals receive an average per patient subsidy far lower than Burlington-Camden hospitals even though both sets of hospitals care for roughly the same number and proportion of charity care patients.
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