safety net hospitals

Mercy Hospital & Medical Center survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 ― but it lost the battle of modern health care economics. In July, Chicago's first hospital told regulators that it will end inpatient services as soon as February.

Health & Safety

Some Urban Hospitals Face Closure Or Cutbacks As The Pandemic Adds To Fiscal Woes

8:26pm September 15, 2020

Experts fear that the economic pressures of the COVID-19 crisis are helping push some urban hospitals over the edge at the very time they are most needed in low-income communities.

Some people land in the hospital over and over. Although research suggests that giving those patients extra follow-up care from nurses and social workers won't reduce those extra hospital visits, some hospitals say the approach still saves them money in t

Health & Safety

'To Stop Now Would Be Foolish': Doubling Down On Services For High-Cost Patients

5:00am January 22, 2020

A study this month showed giving extra social services to the neediest patients didn't reduce hospital readmissions. Now health advocates say that might not be the right measurement of success.

Matching patients with social workers, housing and medical support doesn't actually reduce costly hospital readmissions, a study finds. Still, some say it can transform lives.

Health & Safety

Reduce Health Costs By Nurturing The Sickest? A Much-Touted Idea Disappoints

5:00pm January 08, 2020

Matching the sickest patients with social workers and medical support doesn't reduce costly hospital readmissions, a study finds. Still, some believe greater social investment could make a difference.

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Visitors to Mercy's Fort Scott hospital would pass a tall white cross as they drove down a winding driveway before arriving at the front door. Sisters of Mercy nuns founded the hospital in 1886, and the newest building, constructed in 2002, honors that Ro

No Mercy: How A Kansas Town Is Grappling With Its Hospital's Closure

11:20am May 14, 2019

by Sarah Jane Tribble

People in Fort Scott, Kan., depended on their local hospital for more than a century. In December, the hospital closed. Fort Scott residents now are trying to cope with life without it.

The new strategy of some health plans for state employees is to pay hospitals a certain percentage above the basic Medicare reimbursement rate. It allows hospitals a small profit, the states say, while reducing costs to states and patients.

Health Plans For State Employees Use Medicare's Hammer On Hospital Bills

1:23pm March 20, 2019

by Julie Appleby

Some states have begun using Medicare reimbursement rates to recalibrate how they pay hospitals. If the gamble pays off, more private-sector employers could start doing the same thing.

Sutter Health Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, in Oakland, Calif. is one of hundreds of hospitals serving poor patients that will get some reprieve from Medicare's readmissions penalties.

Health & Safety

Medicare Eases Up On Readmissions Penalties For Hospitals Serving The Poor

5:00am September 26, 2018

by Jordan Rau

Many hospitals that serve a large share of low-income patients will benefit from Medicare's less punishing approach to penalties for patient readmissions.