Week in review: 9 biggest healthcare stories this week

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. Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes speaks out
In the wake of last week's Wall Street Journal article detailing its investigation in Palo Alto, Calif.-based Theranos, founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes agreed to be interviewed by the publication. She previously avoided interviews with WSJ for five and a half months as it investigated the blood test company's technology under the assertion there were inconsistencies between its claims and its actual operations. Ms. Holmes refuted the claim made by WSJ that Theranos allegedly diluted blood samples from finger-prick tests to run them on traditional lab machines. She also refuted the credibility of sources used by WSJ in its initial report. 

2. San Antonio hospital shuts down
Forest Park Medical Center's San Antonio hospital closed after the hospital's property owner filed for bankruptcy protection about two weeks ago, according to a Dallas Business Journal report. The hospital, which is part of the Dallas-based Forest Park Medical Center network of physician-owned facilities, had been showing signs of financial distress. Todd Furniss, chairman of The Management Company at Forest Park Medical Center, blamed the bankruptcy filing on insurers' collective refusal to contract with out-of-network providers.

3. House Republicans earn another win for ACA lawsuit
A federal judge on Monday denied the Obama administration's request to immediately appeal a ruling in House Republicans' lawsuit challenging the administration's implementation of the Affordable Care Act, according to The Hill. In September, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled the House had standing to bring its claims alleging the White House overstepped its power by paying health insurers billions of dollars for discounts on deductibles they offer to low-income consumers under the ACA. The Obama administration had opposed the ruling, and asked to immediately appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Judge Collyer denied the administration's request on Monday.

4. Dartmouth-Hitchcock exits Pioneer ACO program
Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock health system is pulling its accountable care organization out of Medicare's Pioneer Program, following suit of 13 other organizations that have dropped out since the program's start in 2012. Dartmouth-Hitchcock gave official notice of its departure from the program Sept. 14. The medical system decided to leave because the costs of running the program outweighed the savings, according to Robert A. Greene, MD, executive vice president and chief population health management officer at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

5. Millennium Health inks $256M deal to settle kickback, false claims allegations
San Diego-based Millennium Health, formerly Millennium Laboratories, agreed to pay the federal government $256 million to resolve claims the company violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute, according to the Department of Justice. The government alleged Millennium systematically billed federal healthcare programs for excessive and unnecessary urine drug testing from Jan. 1, 2008 to May 20, 2015. The government further alleged Millennium submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for genetic testing that was performed routinely and without an individualized assessment of each patient's needs.

6. Tuomey dodges $237M false claims verdict by settling with DOJ
Tuomey Healthcare System agreed to pay the federal government $72.4 million to settle False Claims Act allegations, allowing the Sumter, S.C.-based system to avoid a $237 million judgment entered against it and upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in July, according to the Department of Justice. In the case against Tuomey, which was filed by a whistle-blower in 2005, the government argued the system entered into 19 contracts with 19 specialists that required the physicians to refer their outpatient procedures to Tuomey, and, in exchange, paid them compensation that far exceeded fair market value. To avoid the $237.4 million judgment against it, Tuomey will pay $72.4 million to settle the case and be sold to Columbia, S.C.-based Palmetto Health.

7. Florida governor invites examples of hospital 'price gouging'
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has asked residents of the state to send him examples of "price gouging" at Florida hospitals, according to a Palm Beach Post report. Gov. Scott said Floridians who believe they are victims of hospital price gouging should share their stories with the Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding. "We want to hear directly from Floridians who have suffered from this unfair practice directly from Floridians who have suffered from this unfair practice so we can better empower patients to fight against price gouging at Florida hospitals." The president of the Florida Hospital Association is also calling for a broader approach to address the issue.

8. California hospital says endoscope was cleaned improperly for 7 years
An endoscope used to conduct colonoscopies at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, Calif., was not cleaned properly according to manufacturer's specifications over a seven-year period, putting roughly 5,000 patients at increased risk of infection, according to a Napa Valley Register report. The problem was uncovered as part of a review of cleaning procedures performed in August. Staff were soaking the scope in a sanitizing solution that was not at the temperature specified by the manufacturer, according to the report. Once the problem was discovered, it was immediately corrected.

9. New music video puts EHR woes to the tune of Jay Z
ZDoggMD, the Stanford hospitalist-turned-rapper, has taken up arms in the great EHR debate in his new video, "EHR State of Mind," a parody of Jay Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind." Released in conjunction with the announcement of athenahealth's "Let Doctors Be Doctors" campaign, the song's lyrics span the broad spectrum of common physician complaints with EHRs, interoperability, vendors and the state of health IT overall.

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