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Regional Hospital of Jackson to pay $510K to settle improper billing allegation

Regional Hospital of Jackson has agreed to pay the United States $510,000 to resolve allegations that it billed Medicare and Medicaid for unnecessary cardiac procedures over an eight-year period, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Jackson Sun
July 21, 2015

Opinion: Wall Street Should Pay for the Recessions They Cause

Over the last several hundred years, financial panics have repeatedly caused severe economic turmoil. For example, there were financial panics every 10 to 20 years in the late 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s, many of which resulted in severe recessions.

Mark Thoma, The Fiscal Times
July 20, 2015

Widespread Understaffing of Nurses Increases Risk to Patients

Over her 34-year nursing career Martha Kuhl, a pediatric oncology nurse at U.C.S.F. Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland in California, has seen her patient load more than double. She recalls one night shift when she was the lone nurse on duty with five patients. “These are all babies that can’t breathe,” she says. “I felt okay at four” but that last patient “sort of tipped it over the edge where I felt unsafe in being able to handle all of these patients.”

Roni Jacobson / Scientific American
July 14, 2015

HealthAlliance nurses in Leominster reach tentative 3-year pact

After nearly a year of negotiations, registered nurses at HealthAlliance Hospital - Leominster Campus are celebrating what they consider a victory after reaching a tentative agreement for a three-year contract Monday evening that they say improves nurse-to-patient staffing and overall patient safety.

Paula J. Owen, Telegram & Gazette
July 2, 2015

Bernie Sanders: Obamacare not enough

Bernie Sanders isn't satisfied with the Supreme Court's affirmation last week of President Barack Obama's health care law. Instead, the Democratic presidential hopeful said on Sunday he wants the United States to adopt a "Medicare-for-all" single-payer health care plan.

Eric Bradner / CNN
June 29, 2015

OSHA cracks down on healthcare employers

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Thursday that it would crack down on hospitals and nursing homes for workplace hazards that aren't protected by formal rules. Experts say politics have complicated efforts to formalize workplace regulations.

Adam Rubenfire / Modern Healthcare
June 26, 2015

Tax pushed by Sanders is a sensible idea

A pot of gold big enough to repair the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, provide middle-class tax relief or provide free tuition to public universities is waiting to be tapped. All Congress has to do is say the word. But the hoard is guarded by the people writer Tom Wolfe called the Masters of the Universe, the Wall Street traders, brokers and hedge fund managers who earn in a day what working stiffs earn in a year. People with the money to influence Congress.

Concord Monitor Editorial
June 24, 2015

Lower Keys Medical Center

Hospital Sues Nonprofit Leader

Braddock is among 26 defendants in 2015 brought to small-claims court by Lower Keys Medical Center, which is listed as Key West HMA in court records. Community Health Systems absorbed HMA when it bought the Key West hospital a year ago as part of a $7 billion deal.

Gwen Filosa, KeyNews.com
June 19, 2015

Are hospitals price-gouging some patients?

A new study published in the journal “Health Affairs,” is claiming 50 hospitals are billing uninsured patients more than 10 times the cost of care set by Medicare. Jean Ross, Co-President of National Nurses United joins Tamron Hall on NewsNation.

MSNBC
June 11, 2015

Recent DOJ Enforcement Actions Demonstrate that the Focus on Mental Health Services Fraud Continues

Two recent actions announced by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), one civil and one criminal, along with a recent speech by Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell, illustrate the current climate of government enforcement related to mental health services (i.e., intensive outpatient psychotherapy (IOP) and partial hospitalization program (PHP) services).

Amanda Enyeart and Laura B. Morgan, Mondaq
June 10, 2015