Health Care Paradox: Medicare Penalizes Dozens of Hospitals It Also Gives Five Stars
Among the 764 hospitals hit with a 1% reduction in Medicare payments this year for having high numbers of patient infections and avoidable complications are more than three dozen that Medicare also ranks as among the best in the country.
A Title Fight Pits Physician Assistants Against Doctors
Physician assistants are pushing to be renamed 鈥減hysician associates,鈥 complaining their title is belittling and doesn鈥檛 convey what they do. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 assist,鈥 they insist. Doctors鈥 groups fear there鈥檚 more than just a name in play.
Few Acute Care Hospitals Escaped Readmissions Penalties
More than 9 in 10 general acute-care hospitals have been penalized at least once in the past decade.
Medicare Punishes 2,499 Hospitals for High Readmissions
The federal government鈥檚 hospital penalty program finishes its first decade by lowering payments to nearly half the nation鈥檚 hospitals for readmitting too many Medicare patients within a month. Penalties, though often small, are credited with helping reduce the number of patients returning for another Medicare stay within 30 days.
Mission and Money Clash in Nonprofit Hospitals鈥 Venture Capital Ambitions
Nonprofit hospitals of all sizes have been trying their luck as venture capitalists, saying their investments improve care through the creation of new medical devices, health software and other innovations. But the gamble at times has been harder to pull off than expected.
Biden’s No-Jab-No-Job Order Creates Quandary for Nursing Homes
Nursing home operators acknowledge that large numbers of staff members are not getting the shots but fear a federal vaccination mandate could drive away workers in a tight labor market.
Familias apoyan m谩scaras en las aulas, pero se oponen a la vacunaci贸n obligatoria
Las fuertes opiniones p煤blicas tienen lugar cuando la politizaci贸n del debate sobre las m谩scaras en las aulas se vuelve m谩s acalorada, coincidiendo con el inicio del a帽o escolar, especialmente en Florida y Texas.
Public Favors Masks in Classrooms but Balks at Mandating Vaccinations for Students
With schools reopening, poll finds two-thirds of parents support mandating masks for unvaccinated students, but resistance to vaccinating students remains high. 鈥淢y child is not a test dummy,鈥 one Black parent told pollsters. Some parents deferred the decision to their teens.
Hemmed In at Home, Nonprofit Hospitals Look for Profits Abroad
About three dozen elite health systems are involved in for-profit hospital projects overseas. Though the systems are exempt from U.S. taxes for providing 鈥渃ommunity benefit,鈥 there鈥檚 limited evidence that such business ventures benefit American patients.
Despite Covid, Many Wealthy Hospitals Had a Banner Year With Federal Bailout
As the crisis crushed smaller providers, some of the nation鈥檚 richest health systems thrived, reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in surpluses after accepting huge grants for pandemic relief. But poorer hospitals 鈥 many serving rural and minority populations 鈥 got a smaller slice of the pie and limped through the year with deficits and a bleak fiscal future.
College Tuition Sparked a Mental Health Crisis. Then the Hefty Hospital Bill Arrived.
A student sought counseling help after feeling panicked when she had trouble paying a big tuition bill. A weeklong stay in a psychiatric hospital followed 鈥 along with a $3,413 bill. The hospital soft-pedaled its charity care policy.
Medicare Cuts Payment to 774 Hospitals Over Patient Complications
Renowned medical centers are among the quarter of general hospitals that will lose 1% of Medicare payments for one year because their patients have high rates of bedsores, sepsis and other preventable complications.
If This Self-Sufficient Hospital Cannot Stand Alone, Can Any Public Hospital Survive?
New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C., makes money and does not require taxpayer subsidies. But the county is selling the public hospital because officials say it needs more capital to compete. Civic leaders say the change will lead to higher health care costs.
More Americans 鈥 Of All Political Persuasions 鈥 Are Donning Masks
Half the public believes the worst of the pandemic is yet to come, but most are prepared to continue to take measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 until vaccines are distributed.
Imponen toques de queda en restaurantes y bares mientras aumentan los casos de Covid-19
Con brotes de coronavirus origin谩ndose en bares y restaurantes, los toques de queda est谩n siendo adoptados no solo por funcionarios, sino tambi茅n por propietarios de establecimientos.
Last Call for COVID: To Avoid Bar Shutdowns, States Serve Up Curfews
Authorities are ordering early closures 鈥 generally around 10 p.m. 鈥 to curb the spread of COVID-19. But will the coronavirus observe this curfew?
Nursing Homes Still See Dangerously Long Waits for COVID Test Results
The Trump administration hailed rapid tests as the way to halt COVID鈥檚 spread in nursing homes. A KHN analysis of federal data shows they鈥檙e not being used, as questions linger about accuracy and best practices.
Feds Approve Fractious Georgia Plan to Change ACA Marketplace
Under the plan pushed by Gov. Brian Kemp, the healthcare.gov website will no longer provide options for Georgia starting next fall, and consumers will need to rely on private brokers, insurance companies, agents and commercial websites.
Medicare Fines Half of Hospitals for Readmitting Too Many Patients
The penalties are the ninth round of a program created as part of the Affordable Care Act鈥檚 broader effort to improve quality and lower costs. The average reduction in federal payments is 0.69%, with 613 hospitals receiving a penalty of 1% or more.
North Carolina Treasurer Took On the Hospitals. Now He鈥檚 Paying Political Price.
The state hospital association has endorsed Dale Folwell鈥檚 opponent after the treasurer sought to force them to accept lower reimbursements from the state employees鈥 health plan.
