Here are seven updates:
ASCA names Rebecca Craig board of directors' president
Rebecca R. Craig is the newly elected board of directors' president for the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association as well as the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association Foundation. In her new role, Ms. Craig will be the chief spokesperson and advise ASCA and ASCAF leadership. She will serve as the director on different projects and task forces.
SCA partners with Grove Place Surgery Center
Vero Beach, Fla.-based Grove Place Surgery Center's physician members selected Surgical Care Affiliates to become a partner in the center. A physician-led outpatient center, Grove Place Surgery Center offers services including general surgery, orthopedics, otorhinolaryngology, pain management and podiatry.
16 Huntington Hospital patients infected due to tainted duendoscope use from 2013 to 2015
The Pasadena Public Health Department report found the drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria from duendoscopes infected 16 patients at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, from January 2013 to August 2015. Eleven of the 16 patients died. However, health officials said only one death certificate listed the bacteria spread by the duendoscopes as the cause.
CMS to calculate ACO cost benchmarks based on regional trends
CMS has finalized a rule which will change the way the agency calculates costs under the Medicare Shared Saving Program. Rather than using national rates, CMS will calculate cost benchmarks for accountable care organizations based on regional healthcare spending trends. CMS intends the updated ruling to stop ACOs from competing amongst each other, and use the regional trends to compare outcomes against other ACOs.
Georgia Eye Institute opens 2nd ASC
Savannah-based Georgia Eye Institute opened Glennville Eye Surgery Center earlier this month. Glennville Eye Surgery Center is Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care-accredited and Medicare-certified.
Senate bolsters NIH funding to $34B
This year's Senate spending bill allotted an additional $2 billion to the National Institute of Health, bringing the agency's total budget to nearly $34 billion. While many research advocates applaud the funding boost, others are concerned as to whether the funding will come from other health agencies such as the CDC.
BCBS of North Carolina sues federal government over $147M risk corridor payments
Last week, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina filed a suit against the federal government for not paying the insurer more than $147 million that BCBS claims the government owed under the Affordable Care Act's risk corridor program. In 2014 and 2015, BCBS of North Carolina said it suffered more than $400 million losses on the ACA. The payer attributes part of that steep loss to its reduced risk-corridor payments.
More healthcare news:
16 Huntington Hospital patients infected due to tainted duendoscope use from 2013 to 2015: 6 key notes
Payer mix at orthopedics-driven ASCs: 6 statistics
Why 'Hillarycare' failed & how the presidential candidate has changed her reform outlook