Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Crozer Health Diverts Patients As Owner's Closure Plans Get Approved
Crozer Health hospitals in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, began diverting patients from their emergency departments Wednesday morning, one day after a federal bankruptcy judge approved Prospect Medical Holdings' plan to close the health system. New patients are no longer being admitted to Crozer hospitals. Patients brought to its locations will be treated and either released or transferred to other hospitals in the area. (Dougherty, Monroe, Specht, Seiders, Wright and Holden, 4/23)
The closing of Crozer Health is impacting more than just employees and patients. Emergency medical services are now faced with driving patients to other hospitals that are farther away. Crozer Health began diverting patients from its emergency departments Wednesday and is no longer admitting new patients. Local hospitals have already reported an increase in patient admissions. (Holden and Specht, 4/23)
More health industry updates 鈥
Acadia Healthcare鈥檚 chief executive was awarded a $1.8 million bonus to respond to 鈥渦nprecedented governmental inquiries鈥 into allegations of holding psychiatric patients against their will. (Thomas and Silver-Greenberg, 4/24)
Uncertainty about the future of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital brought a large crowd to Tuesday's meeting of the Network of Entrepreneurs and Business Advocates at the Capital City Country Club. They were there to hear from the hospital's CEO, Mark O'Bryant. (Flanigan, 4/23)
麻豆女优 Health News: A Chicago Hospital Bows To Federal Pressure On Trans Care For Teens
He鈥檚 17 and lives in the Chicago suburbs. He loves theater and recently helped direct a play at his high school. He takes competitive AP courses and is working on his Eagle Scout project. And he鈥檚 been on a journey for four years. Once a week, the transgender teen injects testosterone into his body. He鈥檚 had his eggs frozen in case he wants to have his own biological children one day. He talked with his parents and his psychologist and decided he was ready for the next step of treatment: top surgery to remove breast tissue. (Schorsch, 4/24)
UNM Hospital cut 53 executive positions as the academic medical center braces for federal funding reductions. The Albuquerque, New Mexico-based provider eliminated nonclinical jobs, some of which were vacant positions, a spokesperson said. UNM Hospital is one of many academic medical centers that have restructured their workforce to prepare for National Institutes of Health grant funding disruptions and potential Medicaid cuts. (Kacik, 4/23)
Blue Shield of California shared members' private health information with Google for nearly three years, the insurance giant revealed earlier this month. The data leak potentially impacts the protected health information of 4.7 million people, according to the company's submission to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights' breach portal. (Landi, 4/23)
An employer's fight to understand what it is spending on its workers' healthcare just encountered a legal hitch. A federal judge in Alabama ruled Tuesday that a landmark $2.7 billion Blue Cross and Blue Shield antitrust settlement means supply chain company Owens & Minor cannot sue Elevance Health over a program involving its employees' claims data. (Tepper, 4/23)
麻豆女优 Health News: 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: Winning A Two-Year Fight Over A Bogus Bill
In July 2022, 鈥淎n Arm and a Leg鈥 listener Meagan experienced a bout of vertigo that landed her in the emergency room. For more than two years after, Meagan endured what felt like a never-ending series of communications with the hospital over a medical bill she knew she didn鈥檛 owe. Meagan spoke with host Dan Weissmann about what kept her motivated to keep fighting and the legal tactic that finally led to a breakthrough. (4/24)