Legal & Regulatory Issues

The United States Senate has voted 60-39 to approve a healthcare bill that would extend health coverage to more than 30 million uninsured, according to a report by the Washington Post.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray is requesting a 60-day delay on Mercy Health Partners' planned $180 million purchase of Jewish Hospital, according to a report by the Cincinnati Business Courier.

St. John Health System, based in Tulsa, Okla., has agreed to pay the federal government more than $13.2 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by providing kickbacks to physicians for referrals and then billing Medicare…

About 75 of the 127 physician-owned hospitals under construction wouldn't meet the new Aug. 1, 2010, deadline in the revised Senate health reform bill, according to an informal count by Physician Hospitals of America.

The health reform bill now being voted on by the Senate would change Medicare physician reimbursements to include nationwide quality measurements, according to a release from the Minnesota Medical Association.

The U.S. Senate has joined the House in delaying implementation of the 21.2 percent Medicare pay cut for physicians from Jan. 1, 2010, to until Feb. 28, 2010, and President Obama is expected to sign the measure, according to a…

Here is a summary of specific changes to the Senate health reform bill, as found in the 383-page Manager's Amendment that was added to the bill just before Senate began voting on it.

While the American Hospital Association supports passage of the Senate health reform bill that is now being voted on, the AHA has some reservations too, according to a report by AHA News Now.

The Senate Democrats' health reform bill has passed the first of three votes needed for final approval of the legislation, with the final vote expected on Christmas Eve, according to a report by the New York Times.

An extension on the deadline from Feb. 1, 2010, to Aug. 1, 2010, for a proposed ban on physician-owned hospitals was included in "Manager's Amendment" to the Senate health reform bill just before it went to a vote, according to…