Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Though Spared From Deep Medicaid Cuts, Okla. Rural Hospitals Still Confront Financial Struggles
Although lawmakers might have spared health care providers from deep Medicaid cuts this summer, some hospitals in Oklahoma are still struggling to keep their doors open. Officials at the Purcell Municipal Hospital told KOCO 5 that they may have to close their doors at the end of this year. ... [Jennifer Warren, chief financial officer] said in addition to reductions in Medicaid funding, the hospital has faced Medicare reimbursement rate cuts and rising commercial insurance deductibles for about 4 years now. She said these cuts have ultimately forced the hospital to cut nine positions, reduce hours for 16 other people, and they have also had to eliminate different services which include MRS’s, mammography and wound care. (Price, 6/16)
A key driver of the AmSurg and Envision Healthcare merger announced Wednesday is the trend among hospitals to find a single vendor for outsourced physician staffing in multiple departments rather than contract the services a la carte, Envision CEO William Sanger said in a conference call Thursday. (Barkholz, 6/16)
Lawyers for Exeter Hospital are arguing that a staffing agency should pay a share in settlements compensating 188 patients who tested negative during a hepatitis C outbreak caused by a former technician feeding his drug habit. (Kimble, 6/16)
The head of the federal agency responsible for providing health care to members of Native American tribes believes legislation recently introduced in the U.S. Senate would help the department fix severe shortcomings at its network of hospitals across the country. Indian Health Service principal deputy director Mary Smith spoke with The Associated Press hours ahead of a U.S. Senate committee hearing scheduled for Friday in South Dakota during which the proposed legislation was expected to be discussed. (Garcia Cano, 6/17)
Outlets also report on hospital-related developments in Georgia and Virginia -
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia faces separate lawsuits accusing it of sending reimbursement money for emergency room care directly to patients — and not the hospital that delivered the service — because the latter isn’t part of the insurer’s network. (Miller, 6/16)
A woman incarcerated at Hampton Roads Regional Jail who was transferred to a state hospital last month after a mental health crisis died within 24 hours of admission, according to Virginia’s top health official. Central State Hospital workers found the woman dead in bed the morning after she arrived for court-ordered care, Dr. William A. Hazel Jr., the state’s secretary of health and human resources, said Thursday in a sit-down interview in his fourth-floor office at the Patrick Henry Building. (Evans and Kleiner, 6/16)
