Legal/Regulatory Issues The Surgery Center of Southern Oregon (SCSO) in Medford will close on June 30 after nearly three decades of operation. KOBI-TV, which broke the story last week, reported that the closing will cause the loss of 84 jobs. Local health system Asante partly owned SCSO and had worked since October…
The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) has published an analysis of Medicare claims from KNG Health Consulting that projects that ASCs will save Medicare $84.8 billion from 2025 to 2034. Previously, stated ASCA, KNG used Medicare claims to determine that ASCs saved Medicare $43.2 billion between 2015 and 2024, and…
People magazine last week reported on a husband’s reaction to his wife’s death at a surgery center. The outlet writes that a 48-year-old woman underwent a 10-hour surgery at a plastic surgery center. She stopped breathing the next day, was revived with CPR, but was pronounced brain-dead. The patient had…
Oregon health system Asante, which last year closed a community hospital citing financial difficulties, is seeking to “dodge state review” of a surgery center purchase, according to The Lund Report, which covers health news in Oregon and Washington. The outlet reports that Asante “quietly asked the state for permission to…
Arkansas news organization Talk Business & Politics (TB&P) reports that a group of state legislators, seeking to “better understand and address constituent concerns” about the future of Baptist Health’s Fort Smith hospital, met with Baptist Health leadership last week for a “listening session” to discuss the situation. State Rep. Ryan…
A general surgeon has posted an opinion piece in General Surgery News that focuses on how rising physician litigation is “reshaping American health care.” Kourtney Kemp, MD, FACS, a general surgeon with Minnesota physician group Specialists in General Surgery, writes, “Healthcare costs are rising, access is shrinking, clinical complexity is increasing,…
Salisbury, Md., CBS affiliate WBOC-TV reports that a Talbot County jury has awarded nearly $1 million to a 76-year-old patient who claims a general surgeon at University of Maryland Shore Medical Center (UMSMC) in Easton, Md., failed to properly diagnose and treat his stomach issue during surgery, which led to permanent…
The Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA), a 400-member Pennsylvania health and human services trade association, endorsed an aspect of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) fiscal year 2027 hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) proposed rule. Its statement regards CMS’ proposal to expand its Comprehensive Care for Joint…
ABC affiliate KCRG reports that Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) more than $14.8 million to settle a violation of the Civil Monetary Penalties Law. “The hospital told the government it may have broken the law regarding an…
The Guardian on Friday published devastating reporting about the state of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The headline: “Inside the CDC’s leadership vacuum: work at a ‘standstill’ and low morale as 80% of top posts remain vacant.” The well-sourced article describes CDC as “in a state of…
