MNA Daily NewsScan, July 20, 2012 - "We Can End AIDS," Medicare Patients Happier Than Those on Private Insurance (Page 100)

HEALTH CARE

Although about 60 percent of patient harm events occurred at hospitals in states with reporting systems, only 12 percent of the events met state requirements for reporting, according to new report from the Office of the Inspector General released today that looked at Medicare beneficiaries discharged in October 2008.

Survey: Medicare patients happier than those with private insurance coverage.

Most doctors work alone when caring for patients – a long tradition reinforced by the notion of a private doctor-patient relationship and by the way doctors are paid. But new efforts nationally and in Minnesota are trying to change that. The notion is that closer collaboration among primary care doctors and specialists can improve care and cut costs.

“We Can End AIDS”: The Robin Hood Tax movement, including Health GAP, VOCAL-NY, ACT UP, National People’s Action (NPA), and National Nurses United (NNU), will be joined by other activists in protests in Washington, D.C. on TUESDAY, JULY 24 at NOON to say: We Can End AIDS, the theme of the protests. An estimated 30,000 protesters are expected to march, attend rallies, and participate in symbolic actions in the course of the day to underscore the need for immediate and substantial funding for AIDS treatment.

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

HEALTH CARE

Although about 60 percent of patient harm events occurred at hospitals in states with reporting systems, only 12 percent of the events met state requirements for reporting, according to new report from the Office of the Inspector General released today that looked at Medicare beneficiaries discharged in October 2008.

Survey: Medicare patients happier than those with private insurance coverage.

Most doctors work alone when caring for patients – a long tradition reinforced by the notion of a private doctor-patient relationship and by the way doctors are paid. But new efforts nationally and in Minnesota are trying to change that.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 20, 2012 – “We Can End AIDS,” Medicare Patients Happier Than Those on Private Insurance  »

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LABOR NEWS

Join the Tweet-A-Thon!  Unions members throughout the nation are tweeting their legislators to pass a bill that will bring jobs home.  Call 888-659-9401 now and urge your senators to vote for the Bring Jobs Home Act to get the ball rolling to stop the destructive policies of outsourcing.  Learn more.

Thank a union   Mining Wages Outpace Other Private Sector Jobs      Mining jobs have become the best jobs in the region for most workers.

HEALTH CARE

Health Care Spending Slows in Minnesota   Health care spending in Minnesota rose just 2.2 percent in 2010 — the slowest annual growth rate since 1997, the Minnesota Department of Health reported Wednesday.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 19, 2012: Bring jobs home, join the Tweet-a-thon; the July Effect;  »

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HEALTH CARE

Healthcare hiring continues to rise, at its strongest point since the middle of 2010, according to data from Health Workforce Solutions (HWS) released Friday.

Good read: Accretive Health’s peculiar view of hospitals sums up the hospital debt collector’s response to the ongoing investigation by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson into mistreatment of Fairview patients: “These people are brats; they have no sense that they are guardians for an institution the world depends on; they have no consciousness of their larger social role.”

Please Don’t Forget About Our Northland Nurses in Need!
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 18, 2012 – Accretive’s “Peculiar View” of Hospitals  »

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NOTES ON NURSING

Finally!!  U.S. News “Best Hospitals” Rating Now Includes Nurse Factor    The  magazine now considers the weight of each measure by itself in relation to  medical outcomes. “Adding more nurses, for example, leads to improved  care, no matter what relationship the nurse staffing measure does or does not  have with any of the other measures.

Weigh in Time:  New Technology of Remote RNs Claims Reduced Mortality in ICU.  Read and return here to comment on this story.

HEALTH CARE

When Public Beats Private:  Community Clinics that Keep Costs Down and Do a Better Job, Too  Federally funded health centers are at the heart of the Affordable Care Act.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 17, 2012 – U.S. News: “oh yeah, maybe nurses matter”  »

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Earlier this month MNA RNs at North Memorial met with management to discuss the surge of Concern For Safe Staffing (CFSS) forms being submitted by MNA RNs inside the hospital’s recently reorganized Family Birth Center. Our MNA nurses initiated the meeting with management and expressed serious concern over the core staffing levels scheduled for each shift.

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HEALTH CARE

Health Care insurance industry whistleblower Wendell Potter talks about the next PR move insurers are likely to make in order to keep putting profits ahead of patients.

More from Potter: Want proof that Big Insurance has figured out how to make a lot of money off reform? Last Monday WellPoint announced it will pay nearly $5 billion to buy the country’s largest private Medicaid managed care company, AmeriGroup. Rest assured that lobbyists for WellPoint and other firms wanting to get their hands on that new Medicaid money will have a “here’s how it has to be” talk with their buddies on Capitol Hill. 
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 16, 2012 – Corporate Insurance Giants Plan to Cash in on ACA  »

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HEALTH CARE

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has filed more paperwork to support her legal claims against Accretive Health Inc., this time highlighting cases of what she calls “reprehensible” collection tactics in emergency rooms while children were being treated.

Despite worries routine cases are clogging up the emergency department, most Medicaid ED patients go because they have to, seeking emergent or urgent care for serious medical problems, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC), released yesterday.

Even though patients want a say in treatment decisions, most don’t want to disagree with their doctor, according to a study published online Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 13, 2012 – Alleged Bad Behavior by Accretive, JP Morgan Wraps Up Week’s News  »

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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.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 12, 2012: Insurers bungle; Mayo expands; Firefighters prevail  »

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HEALTH CARE

While some states are opting out of President Obama’s health care programs, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton wanted it known Tuesday that he’s all-in. “I write to reiterate the State of Minnesota’s intention to continue the planning and development” of a state-based version of the federal health care act, Dayton wrote in a letter to the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services. “We will seize the historic opportunities to improve the quality and affordability of health care afforded us by the new law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, whose constitutionality has now been upheld by the U.S.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 11, 2012: Gov. Dayton Moving MN Toward Implementing Health Care Law  »