Hospitals

UCLA Outbreak Highlights Challenge Of Curbing Infections

3:19pm February 20, 2015

by Jordan Rau

The lethal bacteria that sickened people at a Los Angeles hospital belong to one of three types the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitals should most urgently monitor and prevent.

Medical Park Hospital's patients tend to be pretty happy customers, leading to thousands of dollars in rewards from Medicare.

Satisfied Patients Now Make Hospitals Richer, But Is That Fair?

7:52pm February 18, 2015

by Michael Tomsic

The Affordable Care Act made sure that hospitals scoring well on patient satisfaction surveys are paid more by Medicare. But some say that gives small, boutique hospitals an unfair edge.

Queue Listen Now

Steven Brill is a journalist who also founded Court TV, American Lawyer magazine, 10 regional legal newspapers and Brill's Content Magazine. He teaches journalism at Yale.

Books
Arts

'America's Bitter Pill' Makes Case For Why Health Care Law 'Won't Work'

2:07pm February 05, 2015

Journalist Steven Brill's latest book critiques the Affordable Care Act, which he calls "unsustainable." In the next few years, "something is going to snap," he says. "We cannot pay for this."

Queue Listen Now

Cleveland Clinic pharmacist Katie Greenlee talks with Morgan Clay about how he should take his prescriptions when he leaves the hospital.

Cleveland Hospitals Grapple With Readmission Fines

11:44am January 29, 2015

by Sarah Jane Tribble

The Cleveland Clinic has seen its Medicare penalties go down, while those paid by hospitals that serve many of Cleveland's poorer residents have gone up.

Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, Mo., is changing its name to Mosaic Life Care. It was the focus of an NPR and ProPublica investigation into its billing practices.

Senator 'Astounded' That Nonprofit Hospitals Sue Poorest Patients

3:42pm January 24, 2015

by Chris Arnold

NPR and ProPublica have been reporting about nonprofit hospitals that seize the wages of lower-income patients. Sen. Chuck Grassley says hospitals doing that could be breaking the law.

Queue Listen Now

Hospitals' Medicare Quality Bonuses Get Wiped Out By Penalties

4:43pm January 22, 2015

by Jordan Rau

Medicare is giving hospitals financial incentives to provide better care. But so far about half of the hospitals that got incentive payments found them canceled out by other quality programs.

Paula and Ron Faber walk their dog Millie in 2009, between cancer diagnoses.

Terminally Ill, But Constantly Hospitalized

11:25am January 22, 2015

by Fred Mogul

Surveys show Americans would prefer not to die in a hospital. Yet, in New York City, the majority of people do. But the reason is not simple.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

Malpractice Changes In Massachusetts Offer Injured Patients New Options

12:17pm January 20, 2015

by Michelle Andrews

Hospitals in the state are among the leaders in developing alternatives to medical liability litigation. A recently enacted law helps consumers who want to challenge hospitals and doctors.

Early Test Of An Obamacare Experiment Posts Little Progress

1:21pm January 14, 2015

by Jay Hancock

Community groups getting federal funds to reduce hospital readmissions made little improvement, an early evaluation finds. The experiment will run for five years.

Hospitals Win In States That Chose To Expand Medicaid

11:58am December 30, 2014

In negotiations over the Affordable Care Act, hospitals agreed to cuts in federal payments for uncompensated care in the expectation that millions of people would get Medicaid coverage.