Two-thirds of Georgia hospitals will receive Medicare fines for having too many discharged patients return within a month for additional care, federal data show. The 67 percent of Georgia hospitals facing penalties is higher than the national average of 54 percent, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis. The readmission penalties, launched as part of…
When signing the bill creating Medicare and Medicaid 50 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson held the ceremony in Independence, Missouri, where former President Harry Truman lived. Truman, who had pushed unsuccessfully for national health insurance during his own presidency, was at LBJ’s side during the signing. (And in one of those of odd coincidences…
Just 12 percent of Georgia home health agencies received a superior 4-star or 5-star rating in a new Medicare quality ranking system for that industry. The only states worse than Georgia in percentage of top-rated home health agencies were Alaska, with 0 percent, Washington state, with 3 percent, Wyoming, with 4 percent, and Oregon, with…
Sara Hewitt Kupelian is not your typical medical-surgical nurse. What makes her stand out is that she is also a licensed acupuncturist. “Learning Chinese medicine and acupuncture takes real dedication and devotion,” says Kupelian, a registered nurse for 23 years. She estimates that she logged about 10,000 hours in class and studied for more than…
To the Editor, In 2004, I wasn’t feeling well and went to the doctor, only to find out that my kidneys weren’t working. I began dialysis immediately and was put on the waiting list for a transplant. This was the toughest thing I ever went through in my life, and I want to help others…
Marietta-based WellStar is planning to add another hospital system to its fold, one that’s outside its current geographical sweet spot. West Georgia Health in LaGrange announced Tuesday that it has signed a letter of intent to join WellStar Health System, which dominates the northwest Atlanta suburbs. The CEO of West Georgia, Jerry Fulks, cited the…
Nearly half of Georgia nursing homes have relatively low ratings — either 1 or 2 stars out of a possible 5, according to a report analyzing quality scores for these facilities nationally. The Kaiser Family Foundation, using the quality scores from the “Nursing Home Compare’’ website of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, found that Texas has…
As expected, Gov. Nathan Deal on Tuesday vetoed legislation that would have created a separate state agency devoted to older Georgians. House Bill 86 had passed overwhelmingly in the General Assembly session. It would have moved the current Division of Aging Services out of the Department of Human Services. The new agency, the Adult and…
A Macon hospital has agreed to pay $20 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by overcharging Medicare on patient admissions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia said that from 2004 to 2008, the Medical Center of Central Georgia billed Medicare for inpatient services when the billing…
A majority of Georgia hospitals will get performance bonuses from Medicare for their quality of care, federal data show. The 59 percent of Georgia hospitals getting the financial reward exceeds the national average of 55 percent, according to a Kaiser Health News article. The bonuses come from measurements that include patient satisfaction, lower death rates…