Stay in the know with Becker's Hospital Review's weekly roundup of the nation's biggest healthcare news. Here's what you need to know this week.
1. Patient identity theft jumps 22% in 2014
Medical identity theft affected two million people in 2014, a number approximately 22 percent higher than in 2013. A study from the Medical Identity Fraud Alliance and the Ponemon Institute found that since 2009, medical identity thefts have nearly doubled. Resolving theft is expensive, too — approximately 65 percent of victims paid more than $13,000 out of pocket to resolve the theft, according to a news release. The total out-of-pocket cost to consumers for medical identity theft in 2014 topped $20 billion.
2. UCLA Health CEO Dr. David Feinberg takes top spot at Geisinger
Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Health System named UCLA Health System President David Feinberg, MD, as its sixth president and CEO. Dr. Feinberg, 53, will replace Geisinger's longtime CEO Glenn Steele, MD, PhD. Dr. Steele has led the system since 2001 and plans to step down from his role in June 2015. He will continue to work as chairman of Columbia, Md.-based xG Health Solutions. Dr. Feinberg, a psychiatrist, has led five-hospital UCLA since 2007.
3. CMS extends MU attestation deadline for eligible professionals
CMS extended the original deadline from Feb. 28 to March 20 to attest to meaningful use for the 2014 EHR incentive program, but urges providers to begin attesting for 2014 as soon as they can. The extension also applies to eligible professionals who have not already used their "switch" to change programs from Medicare to Medicaid for the 2014 payment year. CMS also noted that the Medicare extension does not affect deadlines for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. Another listserv from CMS about the Physician Quality Reporting System program extension is forthcoming, according to the news release.
4. Man charged for impersonating Cerner employees, selling MRI to Dallas hospital
A Texas man was charged in federal court for impersonating representatives of Cerner and selling a hospital an MRI worth more than $1 million, according to the FBI. Albert Davis allegedly participated in a wire fraud conspiracy scheme in which he convinced employees of Dallas-based Prime Health Care and Dallas Medical Center that he and his co-conspirators were working with Cerner and sold them an MRI. Dallas Medical Center sent two wire payments totaling $1,061,550 to the conspirators' bank accounts, according to the FBI. Mr. Davis and his co-conspirators allegedly impersonated Cerner employees, physicians and investors in emails and in-person visits. The installation of the MRI was never completed, and hospital employees called the true Cerner company, who said they had never sold Dallas Medical Center an MRI, thus bringing to light the fraudulent activity.
5. Aetna hits 'hotel-like' hospital with $120M kickback lawsuit
North Cypress (Texas) Medical Center and its CEO engaged in an illegal kickback scheme and used deceptive billing practices that led Aetna Life Insurance to overpay the physician-owned community hospital by as much as $120 million, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed by the insurer. According to the complaint filed by Aetna, the hospital's annual gross revenues exceed $1.5 billion a year — "an amount that is more than twice that of other nearby hospitals that have substantially more patient volume and provide a wider array of medical services." The scheme allegedly involved North Cypress engaging in a number of illegal acts, including paying kickbacks to physicians for patient referrals and using improper billing techniques. By charging exorbitant fees, North Cypress was able to advertise its facility as having "an upscale five-star hotel-like ambience," according to the lawsuit.
6. Sale of 6 California hospitals to Prime approved — with strict conditions
California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris conditionally approved a transaction allowing Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services to acquire six hospitals from Los Altos, Calif.-based Daughters of Charity Health System. Daughters of Charity agreed to sell its hospitals to Prime in October 2014, but SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West strongly opposed the transaction. In December 2014, 18 members of Congress from California sent a letter to Ms. Harris urging her to block the deal out of concern that patient care and healthcare worker rights will suffer at the hospitals. Ms. Harris approved the sale with several stern conditions, including requiring Prime to continue operating the facilities for their current purposes for 10 years. Prime must also participate in the Medi-Cal and Medicare programs and have or maintain Medi-Cal managed care contracts at each of the six facilities it's purchasing.
7. Daughters of Charity sues SEIU over hospital deal
Los Altos, Calif.-based Daughters of Charity Health System filed a lawsuit against Service Employees International Union and its United Healthcare Workers West affiliate alleging the union's attempts to sabotage the system's efforts to sell its hospitals cost DCHS tens of millions of dollars, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report. In its lawsuit, DCHS claims SEIU pressured potential buyers of the system's hospitals to back out, which drove the price of the deal down. The system also claims the labor union's tactics delayed the sale of the hospitals, according to the report.
8. FDA seeks clarity from scope manufacturers on cleaning methods
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked the companies that manufacture the complex scopes tied to drug-resistant bacteria infections to prove their recommended cleaning methods work, according to a New York Times report. Duodenoscopes, which are used during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography procedures, have been pointed to as the cause of infections in patients at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles and at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. Even when providers appear to follow cleaning and reprocessing protocols, there has been transmission of bacteria. Some hospitals, including Virginia Mason, have started using different techniques that go beyond the manufacturers' instructions for use.
9. UCLA patient sues Olympus over 'superbug' infection associated with scopes
A patient of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles filed a lawsuit against Olympus in regards to the recent carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae outbreak linked to contaminated duodenoscopes, according to a Bloomberg Business report. The patient was exposed to a contaminated endoscope when he underwent multiple procedures at the medical center last year. The lawsuit alleges that Olympus failed to provide proper instructions for sterilization, according to the report, and names Olympus and three members of the company's team as defendants.
10. Coming soon: A Cleveland Clinic health plan?
Cleveland Clinic is considering a move into the insurer market. It has already established an ability to manage risk via bundled payment arrangements with several large employers, such as Boeing, Wal-Mart and Lowe's, but now the system is evaluating a more definitive move onto the payer side. Heather Phillips, a system spokesperson, said Cleveland Clinic is working closely with "many insurance companies on a variety of different options." One strategy "being carefully considered" is applying for an insurance license with the state, which can take up to 18 months and would let Cleveland Clinic launch its own insurance plans. Click here to read seven thoughts on what a Cleveland Clinic health plan would mean for the system and patients.
11. Cleveland Clinic, VA to link medical records
Cleveland Clinic and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will link their medical records beginning in February. The connection will create more complete medical records for the more than 1,800 patients who receive care from both the Cleveland Clinic and VA facilities. The VA has been pushing to enroll more hospitals nationwide in its Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record to improve outcomes for patients who receive care from VA hospitals and outside hospitals, according to Crain's Cleveland Business.
12. HHS gives $399M to help states, cities to prep for Ebola
HHS released a new funding opportunity that will award a total of $339.5 million to the states and select cities to improve domestic Ebola preparedness and response. Ebola emergency funding will be allocated through two programs: the Hospital Preparedness Program Ebola Preparedness and Response Activities, also known as HPP, and the Public Health Emergency Preparedness program, known as PHEP. HPP will award a total of $194.5 million to the states and other grantees while $145 million in funds will be allocated through PHEP.
13. Drs. Michael Terry, Bradley Merk perform surgery on Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane
Michael Terry, MD, and Bradley Merk, MD, performed surgery on Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane to repair a broken collarbone, according to a Demanjo report. Mr. Kane sustained the injury during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers on Feb. 24. Drs. Terry and Merk performed the procedure at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Terry is a Northwestern Medicine physician and is currently the head team physician for the Chicago Blackhawks. Dr. Merk, also a Northwestern Medicine, focuses on complex and non-union fractures as well as trauma reconstruction.