1. A surprising suggestion for cost-savings — To save money on the back end, Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, Calif., is offering a 25 percent discount to insured patients (and up to 50 percent off for the uninsured) who pay their bills promptly.
2. The Federal Trade Commission strikes again! The federal agency is continuing its challenge yet another proposed merger as healthcare experts take the stand — this time between ProMedica Healthcare and St. Luke’s Hospital in Ohio. The merger was first proposed earlier this year.
3. In a bold move to rein in healthcare costs, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston issued a 56-item price list for physicians to help them better consider procedural costs.
4. Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, Calif., is tackling healthcare disparities by recruiting Spanish-speaking medical students to serve to the Spanish-speaking population.
5. Provena United Samaritans Medical Center in Danville, Ill., has cleaned up its act and can keep its Medicare status. The hospital implemented a corrective action plan and underwent a successful re-survey after a patient suffered first-degree burns during surgery.
6. Forbes columnist Avik Roy blames skyrocketing healthcare costs to hospital consolidation, adding to the growing scrutiny on hospital mergers.
7. Hospital leaders can breathe a sigh of relief! HHS has published a final rule on how it will reduce or streamline regulatory burdens.
8. Northwestern Memorial Hospital and University of Chicago Medical Center are among the top Chicago hospitals saying “no way” to participation in the state’s new Medicaid managed care program.
9. The debt reduction battle is far from over. Not only could Medicare payments be reduced, but Medicaid may be on the debt-reduction committee’s chopping block after all.
10. Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas is off the hook — for now. CMS has accepted the hospital’s corrective action plan regarding serious patient safety violations and will re-visit the hospital for a survey.
