HEALTH CARE
Insurers Not Keeping a Lid on Costs With federal healthcare reform still facing political head winds despite its validation by the Supreme Court, this probably isn’t the best time for health insurers to admit their utter incompetence in handling their most important role under the reform, which is keeping a lid on healthcare costs.
Amid Debate and Uncertainty Over Health Care, Mayo Expands “I’ve done more merger affiliations in the last 24 months than previously done in 23 years” as a consultant, said James Berarducci, a health care consultant in Minnesota for global management firm Kurt Salmon, who has done work for Mayo. “The issue now is, this isn’t all about merging assets or being acquired; there are newer, different relationships that are being created.”
This is the Governor who refused outside help. Texas Cited As Nation’s Worst Health Care Provider Moy acknowledged Texas’ poor showing was partly the result of its heavily uninsured population – the nation’s highest, at more than 25 percent – but said it was also due to the weak delivery of care in different settings and clinical areas.
NOTES ON NURSING
Several Million Health Care Workers Needed by 2020 gardless of the fate of the Affordable Care Act, the United States will need 5.6 million new healthcare workers by 2020, according to a study by researchers at Georgetown University’s Center on Education and Workforce.
LABOR
Firefighters Prevail in Fight for Health Insurance It all started around a kitchen table in Custer, South Dakota. John Lauer, a 27-year-old seasonal firefighter for an elite U.S. Forest Service wildland fire team, sat down with some colleagues to write a petition.
Jobless Claims Hit 4-Year Low The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications dropped by 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000. It was the third straight decline and the lowest level since March 2008.