Modern Healthcare articles from February 2003

Modern Healthcare archives from February 2003

Splitting the proceeds; Kansas judge rules state should get 20% of Health Midwest Sale to HCA.(Late News)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly A Kansas judge ruled that the state should receive 20% of the proceeds resulting from the $1.1 billion sale of Kansas City, Mo.-based Health Midwest to HCA of Nashville. The ruling by Johnson County (Kan.)...

Behind NCFE's good news; Bondholders could be lucky to get back pennies on the dollar.(The Week in Healthcare)(National Century Financial Enterprises is folding)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor When National Century Financial Enterprises announced late last month it would not emerge from what could prove to be the largest healthcare bankruptcy ever, the news was well received by some of the company's debtor...

Airing dirty laundry; Texas group to post malpractice lawsuits on Web site.(The Week in Healthcare)(the Texas Patient Safety Foundation posts information about malpractice lawsuits against physicians and hospitals)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano As physicians in several states pressure their legislatures and Congress for malpractice relief, a Dallas business consultant last week announced he is spending about $100,000 of his own money to publicize...

No permission needed; Bush proposes lift of federal Medicaid requirement.(News)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong Alarming advocates for poor patients, the Bush administration late last week proposed lifting a requirement that states apply for federal permission to tinker with their Medicaid programs. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson...

Magellan CEO faces tough task.(News Makers)(Magellan Health Services names Steven Shulman as its new CEO)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Shulman Magellan Health Services has hired a new CEO to lead a companywide effort to reduce its staggering debt load and oversee restructuring in a possible Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Steven Shulman, a veteran managed-care...

The reform watch; Some thoughts on Medicare while we wait for the president to get specific.(Opinions-Editorials)(President Bush needs to develop his plan for Medicare reform)(Editorial)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed The lengthening wait for President Bush's Medicare reform plan reminds me of the buildup to inventor Dean Kamen's Next Big Thing, which was supposed to revolutionize technology the way...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
February 3, 2003... Medicaid has become more like an ever-widening fisherman's gill net, as state after state becomes ensnared and flails about in a desperate attempt to survive.... With states suffering from repressed revenues because of a gasping economy,...

California doc groups unite.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko The California Association of Physician Organizations, Los Angeles, has merged with the California Medical Group Association, Sacramento, to create a single statewide organization representing doctor groups and...

Let the safety begin; NQF endorses practices, opens door for quality standards.(The Week in Healthcare: National Quality Forum supports 26 practices)
February 3, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey A government-backed forum representing a wide range of healthcare interests reached consensus last week on 26 evidence-based safe practices in hospital care, forming a starting point to include quality-based provisos...

Briefly: Construction.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 3, 2003... HMA wins CON approval Health Management Associates, Naples, Fla., signed a deal to acquire 60 acres of land in its home territory of Collier County, Fla., for a 100-bed hospital. The project has received preliminary certificate-of-need...

Late News.
February 3, 2003... Unnecessary procedures HCA, Nashville, said it has alerted government authorities including a U.S. attorney that medically may have been performed in the cardiac catheterization lab of its 515-bed Cedars Medical Center, Miami. In a...

Few details, big debate; President Bush still needs to fill in the blanks on how he wants to reform Medicare, but advocates are already feuding.(Cover Story)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman President Bush last week opened new rifts in Congress and the healthcare industry when he presented a vague but controversial plan to overhaul the 38-year-old Medicare program. Following weeks of speculation about how...

Changing the rules; As smaller GPOs customize, the big boys take notice.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, is reconditioning its relationship with the group-purchasing arm of Premier after spending four months considering whether to sever its strong ties to the hospital alliance it...

A career of guiding change.(Healthcare Profile)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Ed Finkel After a career spent pushing large, sometimes change-resistant organizations, Patrick Hays is running with smaller groups whose existence is based on pushing ahead. His achievements on both fronts have earned him the...

Court orders resentencing.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Adding another chapter to a highly publicized hospital fraud case, a federal appeals court has ordered a district court judge to resentence convicted executive Dennis McClatchey for his role in a kickback scheme. ...

Reaching out to the community; ACHE's young executive of the year finds innovative ways to serve patients.(Healthcare Profile)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Ed Finkel Executives in healthcare and other social service fields like to talk about ``reaching out to the community.'' One gets the feeling that Anthony Munroe, chief executive officer of the Miami-based Economic Opportunity...

Familiar themes for ACHE; Labor shortfalls, malpractice insurance reform, reimbursement issues top agenda for organization's 46th annual congress next month.(Special Feature)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly When the American College of Healthcare Executives meets next month in Chicago, members will be tackling an issue that just doesn't seem to go away: workforce shortages. Labor shortages-especially among nurses,...

Corrections & Clarifications.(Corrections)(Correction Notice)
February 3, 2003... * Reporter Julie Piotrowski was omitted from a list of contributors to Modern Healthcare's 2003 business outlook (Jan. 6, p. 26). * Due to a production error, a brief on the approval of Ameris Health Systems' plan to build a hospital in...

In the spotlight.(News Makers: executive changes in health care industry)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... * Catholic Health Initiatives, the Denver-based system that owns 108 healthcare facilities in 19 states, is searching for a new president and CEO as Patricia Cahill prepares to retire. Cahill, 64, will retire July 31 from the top post at...

Really pursue those 'other interests'; Losing a job can be an opportunity to take stock, improve your life.(Publisher's Letter)(Editorial)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer The scenario goes something like this: A decent, competent, hard-charging chief executive officer of a healthcare institution is suddenly given the ``opportunity to pursue other interests'' by the board of that...

CMS transfers watchdog role.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor In a move that troubles veteran fraud watchers, a mainstay project for HHS' inspector general's office-the annual Medicare payment error-rate report-now will be outsourced by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid...

On the move...(News Makers: appointments in health care industry)
February 3, 2003... Ellen Zane, 51, president of Partners HealthCare System, Boston, has been named the 2003 chairwoman of the American Hospital Association's Section for Health Care Systems, succeeding Health Midwest President and CEO Richard Brown, whose term...

Consorta OKs code of conduct.(The Week in Healthcare: Consorta Catholic Resource Partners approves code of conduct)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Consorta Catholic Resource Partners, Rolling Meadows, Ill., has approved a code of conduct governing its group purchasing practices that has the blessing of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee,...

Doc at the State of the Union has plenty of tort experience.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(Column)
February 3, 2003... It's always a tough call picking the right doctor. Just ask President Bush. Bush, hoping to gain support for his national call for malpractice insurance reform, invited two doctors to be his guests at the Capitol for last week's State of...

Finally...yes; Bon Secours wins long fight for new site.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro After a knock-down, drag-out with hospital chain HCA, Bon Secours Richmond (Va.) Health System has won certificate-of-public-need approval to build 130-bed St. Francis Medical Center in suburban Chesterfield County,...

Early release; Abdelhak wins parole after serving three months.(The Week in Healthcare: Sherif Abdelhak, mastermind of failed Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation, paroled)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Sherif Abdelhak, mastermind of the failed Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation, was paroled Dec. 9 after serving three months of his 111/2- to 23-month sentence, Modern Healthcare learned last week. ...

Fiscal surrender; Assisted-living provider Alterra files for bankruptcy.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski Alterra Healthcare Corp., one of the nation's largest providers of assisted-living residences, announced last week it was filing for bankruptcy protection as a conclusion to a two-year companywide reorganization...

Leaving the line of fire; Ex-consumer activist Zelman exits as CAHP chief.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko Walter Zelman, a consumer activist who was hired to polish the image of the managed-care industry, has quietly stepped down from his post as president and chief executive officer of the California Association of...

The real road to better coverage; Instead of privatizing Medicare, let's try what worked for one state's uninsured.(Opinions-Commentary)(Column)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Howard Dean During the summer of 1991, I was serving in the part-time position of lieutenant governor of Vermont while also continuing the internal medicine practice I shared with my wife, Judy Steinberg Dean, in the town of...

No gouging allowed; Tenet's new billing, collection practices may signal change in industry's strategy regarding the uninsured.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Tenet Healthcare Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif., announced new billing and collection procedures for self-pay patients last week, signaling what some observers said might amount to a sea change in how the industry deals...

Raising the bar; HCA accepts strict governance code to settle shareholder lawsuit.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro HCA has agreed to meet rigorous good-governance standards to settle a shareholder lawsuit. The chain will adopt stricter practices than either those proposed by the New York Stock Exchange or required by the...

Listen to this; Take the time, make the effort to really hear what others need to tell you.(Publisher's Letter)(business leaders need to focus on their listening skills)(Editorial)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer As a frequent business traveler I am always meeting all kinds of people. I love that part of my job because most people are very nice, wherever I happen to be. I love people. I like to spend time with them and...

Tenet execs on the defensive.(The Week in Healthcare)(Tenet Healthcare Corp. discusses its pricing structure before the California State Assembly)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Tenet Healthcare Corp. continued to defend its pricing structure last week, explaining its practices before a hearing of the California State Assembly. A report released by the California Public Employees'...

Late News.(multiple topics)
February 10, 2003... Feds probe HealthSouth The government has launched a securities investigation of HealthSouth Corp., Birmingham, Ala. The company acknowledged being hit with a subpoena by the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Alabama for...

When the White House calls...(James May, president, chief executive officer, Mercy Health Partners, visit by President Bush)
February 10, 2003... James May, president and CEO of Mercy Health Partners, Scranton, Pa., wasn't at all intimidated by the thought of sitting down and chatting with President Bush-that is, until a couple of Bush's aides put in their two cents' worth. ``The...

Over the line? Feds watch doc walkouts with antitrust concerns.(Federal antitrust regulators; physicians demonstrate against increased costs of medical malpractice insurance )
February 10, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Federal antitrust regulators are closely watching the recent wave of physician job actions aimed at pressuring state legislatures to reform tort laws. Although lobbying is protected by the First Amendment, it is...

Briefly: Legal News.(multiple topics)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2003... Ohio docs' suit can continue Ohio doctors can continue a class-action antitrust lawsuit filed against health insurers last summer, a Hamilton County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court judge ruled, rejecting insurers' contention the case is a...

Columbia's loss hits home across medical community.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
February 10, 2003... The destruction of the space shuttle Columbia was mainly a human tragedy, with the loss of seven people whose lives were interwoven with those of their families and friends, and colleagues in the space program. But it was also a huge blow to...

Genesis divesting in Florida.(The Week in Healthcare: Genesis Health Ventures shedding operations in Florida)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski Blaming high liability insurance premiums, Genesis Health Ventures, Kennett Square, Pa., announced last week it is divesting its Florida operations. The nursing home chain agreed with Formation Capital to sell...

Boardroom battle; AG petitions to appoint two to HealthPartners board.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch, who issued a critical audit last month detailing what he considered corporate greed at Bloomington, Minn.-based HealthPartners, is asking a state court to appoint two...

Rx for physicians; Bush's plan may safeguard docs from more cuts.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman President Bush last week proposed a 2004 federal budget that would help shield physicians from further Medicare payment cuts but leave significant leeway for Congress to cut hospital rates. Despite Bush's plan to...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2003... * Duncan Moore, 61, president and CEO of Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial Healthcare, has resigned effective June 23 after 15 years at the system's top post. His announcement follows growing tension between the administration and the medical staff,...

Hall of Fame; Leaders honored for contributions to healthcare.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Susanna Moon Three health system leaders, including two physicians, will be honored next month for their lifelong contributions to healthcare. John Colloton, Thomas Frist Jr. and Robert Waller will be inducted into Modern...

Calling all techies; Modern Healthcare, HIMSS introduce CEO IT Achievement Award.(Opinions-Editorials)
February 10, 2003... Byline: David Burda, Editor You can tell healthcare chief executive officers who are totally into information technology from those who give it lip service. They carry pagers, cell phones, headsets and laptops. They look like a RadioShack...

Bouncing back; Stanford Hospital rings up $12.5 million profit.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko Stanford Hospital and Clinics posted a surprising $12.5 million profit in fiscal 2002, reversing two years of serious losses after its breakup with the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center. Officials...

Under the microscope; CareFirst's proposition to WellPoint called improper.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong In the latest public inquiry of a pending not-for-profit conversion, an expert for Maryland regulators testified last week that CareFirst Blue Cross and Blue Shield failed to follow proper business practices when it...

A matter of safety; Leapfrog to announce collaboration with CMS.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 10, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey The Leapfrog Group, a business coalition seeking to accelerate the pace of patient-safety initiatives, will announce this week a collaboration with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on new ways to reward...

Briefly: Post-Acute.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 10, 2003... Integrated Health takes bid Bankrupt nursing home operator Integrated Health Services, Sparks, Md., said it has accepted a bid to sell its remaining assets to Abe Briarwood Corp. for an undisclosed price. Previously, the nursing home chain...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
February 10, 2003... What Americans want is really quite simple: all the healthcare they or their doctors can imagine, virtually free, without added taxes for healthcare and without higher out-of-pocket costs for their ``employer-provided'' health insurance. That's...

On the move...(News Makers)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2003... Veteran hospital executive Tyree Wilburn, 50, was named president, CEO and chairman of Denver-based for-profit startup Merit Health Systems last month. Wilburn replaces Rick Pajot, who stepped down for personal and health reasons. Wilburn was...

Spending slowdown; Reduced Medicare, private expenditures curb growth.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong A new government report predicts that a slowdown in Medicare and private-sector expenditures will curb the growth in U.S. healthcare spending, but hospitals will continue to be the principal cost driver in the near...

Insurance assistance; Feds say hospitals can subsidize docs in some cases.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano As doctors protest high malpractice costs with slowdowns and strikes, some hospitals are offering cash subsidies to help offset skyrocketing insurance premiums-a practice that skirts the safe-harbor provisions of...

Medicare to require reports detailing patient satisfaction; AHRQ creating standard patient-experience survey; hospitals will be collecting info as early as September.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman By this fall, hospitals that want to continue receiving Medicare payments will be required to publicly report patient satisfaction using a survey now under development. HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and...

And now, live from your lower intestine ... Capsule endoscope proves to be a breakthrough tool for gastrointestinal diagnoses, with the pill often removing the need for some painful procedures.(Medical Advances)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Since it was cleared for its U.S. market launch 18 months ago, a new technology based on an Israeli-designed missile used in the Persian Gulf War has been gobbled up by patients such as 66-year-old John Gorra. At...

IT gets political; Technology's role in many health policy issues means CIOs must enter the fray.(Opinions-Commentary)(Column)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Stephen Lieber ``HIPAA is generally good for healthcare. It is requiring us to do things regarding privacy and security that we should have been doing long before now.'' This recent statement-made before a group of information...

An info-tech disconnect; Even as groups such as Leapfrog push IT as an answer to quality issues, doctors and executives say, 'Not so fast'.(Cover Story)
February 10, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Despite strident pressure from healthcare purchasers, government-funded experts and the public, senior healthcare executives have proceeded cautiously -- if at all -- with plans to bring a new class of clinical...

Getting back in the game; FTC, Justice Department step up scrutiny of antitrust issues in healthcare, including a look at mergers past and present.(Special Report)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Maybe they can't agree whether to call the recent spate of federal healthcare antitrust activity a resurgence, but healthcare antitrust lawyers, academics and providers concur that enforcement has moved off the back...

Prominent antitrust cases.(Special Report)
February 17, 2003... * Poplar Bluff, Mo. The only two acute-care hospitals in Poplar Bluff merged in 1999 when Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. joined for-profit 186-bed Doctors Regional Medical Center with its 173-bed Lucy Lee Hospital for...

Late News.(developments in health care industry)
February 17, 2003... Smallpox injury bill introduced Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) introduced legislation to establish "no fault" compensation for those injured by the smallpox vaccine and help states offer education and testing for risk factors. The...

Charitable dropoff; Uncompensated care drops to lowest level in years.(Late News)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Hospitals' level of spending on care for the poor dropped to its lowest level in nearly two decades in 2001, accord-ing to new data from the American Hospital Association. The nation's acute-care hospitals spent...

Don't throw the baby out... Single-payer advocates would kill healthcare system in pursuit of total coverage.(Opinions-Editorials)(Editorial)
February 17, 2003... Byline: David Burda, Editor Here's two headlines that you won't see this week: ``Most Americans have health insurance,'' and ``Most Americans get the medical care they need.'' But why let the facts get in the way of the push for a national...

Drastic measures? Rumors persist Tenet may sell off some hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Industry speculation is circulating that Tenet Healthcare Corp. may react to its mounting legal and financial troubles the same way that the former Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. did-by selling a chunk of itself. ...

Congress OKs fiscal blueprint.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Congress gave physicians and rural hospitals a Valentine last week in the form of a fiscal 2003 budget package that includes hard-won Medicare pay increases. A provision in the budget would boost Medicare payments to...

Senate Dems tap health leader.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2003... Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) has been named coordinator of the Senate Democratic Task Force on Health Care, where she will ``help shape the debate'' on prescription drugs and a broad range of other industry issues,said Senate Minority Leader...

When it rains ... Mount Sinai faces SEC investigation into bond issue.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Already embroiled in litigation stemming from financial woes suffered under its former chief executive officer, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, Fla., now faces a Securities and Exchange Commission...

Hospitals cry foul; HHS report urges reimbursement adjustments.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Hospital associations expressed alarm at a report issued by HHS Inspector General Janet Rehnquist urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to set uniform rates for procedures that could be performed either...

Briefly: Washington.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2003... Reimbursement for immigrant care Arizona congressmen introduced legislation to reimburse hospitals in border states for providing care to undocumented aliens. The bill, introduced late last week by Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain, both...

Reinvesting ... again; Congress OKs $20 million to fight staffing shortage.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong Congress approved $20 million for the Nurse Reinvestment Act last week as part of the 2003 omnibus spending bill, more than six months after President Bush signed the federal legislation to address the nation's critical...

Credentialing standards; Keystone deal creates new protection for patients.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor An agreement signed last week by the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia and Keystone Health Plan East establishes what may become a new legal standard for credentialing by managed-care plans and hospitals. The agreement...

Pay the services some lip; Two words can communicate your gratitude to those who protect and help you.(Publisher's Letter)(Editorial)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Why is it so difficult for many of us to say ``thank you?'' It's not as if it's such an onerous task, but so many people seem to find it impossible to utter these two little words. And yet these simple words can...

On the move...(News Makers: executive changes in health care industry)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2003... Veteran hospital administrator Stephen Tullman has been named CEO of Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s USC University Hospital and USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital, both in Los Angeles. Tullman, 51, replaces Paul Viviano, 49, who...

On diversity and commonality; For one healthcare leader, assimilation means becoming a unique part of a whole.(Opinions-CommentaryEditorials)(Column)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Michael Jhin I was a teenager in 1963 when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his ``I Have a Dream'' speech. Half Korean, half Chinese, I was a minority among minorities, trying...

Gorman out at Universal.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Universal Health Services, King of Prussia, Pa., replaced Chief Financial Officer Kirk Gorman last week because of what Gorman said was a ``philosophical difference'' with the company's auditor, KPMG. Chairman,...

The Utah solution; HHS sees state's Medicaid solution as blueprint.(News)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor The Bush administration has seen the future of Medicaid and it's in Utah. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson is touting a year-old Medicaid initiative in the Mormon State as a model for other cash-strapped states to...

AMA draws kudos for big role in Medicare giveback.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
February 17, 2003... Chalk one up for the American Medical Association, which poured every resource available into one of its biggest lobbying efforts ever-the desperate, costly drive to avert another year of Medicare payment cuts. The big win for the...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)
February 17, 2003... * It's been a time of change at HHS. Bobby Jindal announced last week that he will step down Feb. 21 as assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the department to ``consider other opportunities'' in his home state of Louisiana....

Move over, HIPAA; Patient safety emerges as No. 1 priority for IT pros.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 17, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Patient safety has replaced compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 as the top priority for healthcare information technology professionals, reflecting heightened industry...

Vaccination hesitation; Congress, HHS look to tackle safety worries about smallpox vaccinations.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski With the Bush administration's smallpox program getting off to a slow start, Congress and HHS last week were weighing proposals to address safety and compensation concerns that have discouraged providers from being...

Briefly: Hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 17, 2003... HealthMidwest to appeal Health Midwest, Kansas City, Mo., last week said it's appealing a court ruling in its lawsuit against Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline over the system's $1.13 billion sale to HCA, Nashville. Johnson County...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Editorial)
February 17, 2003... ``The nation's governors have been asking Washington for help with a pair of pressing problems: a rising number of uninsured families and a rising tide of red ink in state budgets. The Bush administration responded with a dramatic but vague...

Hope for the uninsured? HHS proposes a series of initiatives to expand coverage, broaden access for the 41 million Americans without health insurance.(Cover Story)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman The estimated 41 million Americans without health insurance registered prominently on HHS' radar screen last week as the agency proposed a series of initiatives to expand coverage and broaden access. If Congress adopts...

Partisan foils pose challenge to malpractice reform measure; Calls for unity on controversial issue go unheard as lawmakers engage in 'crass, pure economic fight'.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 17, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong The chances of a federal malpractice reform bill becoming law took a hit as deep-rooted partisan differences surfaced over how to solve the alleged malpractice crisis. Hearings begun by the Senate last week made clear...

Briefly: Managed Care.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2003... Group Health settles suit Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, has agreed to pay as much as $10 million in member refunds to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming the HMO violated state law by denying coverage for alternative treatments....

Final security rules on way.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Long-awaited final regulations for security of electronic patient information will be published Feb. 20 in the Federal Register. The 289-page rule requires health insurers, providers and claims clearinghouses to...