Stay in the know with Becker's Hospital Review's weekly roundup of the nation's biggest healthcare news. Here's what you need to know this week.
1. New Jersey hospital files for bankruptcy, blames state for troubles
Saint Michael's Medical Center in Newark, N.J., a subsidiary of Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday. The state has been considering selling the financially distressed medical center to Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services since December 2012, and Saint Michael's says the extended consideration of the transaction is the chief reason for its bankruptcy filing.
2. CMS delays enforcement of 'two-midnight' rule again
With the current delay set to expire Sept. 30, CMS has extended the partial enforcement delay of the "two-midnight" rule through the end of the year. Under the extension, Recovery Audit Contractors are prohibited from conducting post-payment patient status reviews for claims with dates of admission from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31. Additionally, CMS announced that beginning Oct. 1, Quality Improvement Organizations will assume responsibility for conducting initial patient status reviews to determine payment for short-stay inpatient hospital claims.
3. Google, Alphabet & healthcare: 7 things to know about the new conglomerate
On Monday, Google Cofounder Larry Page announced the formation of a new company called Alphabet, which will serve as the parent holding company of Google and its affiliates. By housing all Google companies (such as healthcare-rooted companies like Life Sciences and Calico) under Alphabet, each organization will have more potential to maximize what they do, be it pharmaceutical work or biotech research and development.
4. Capital One to buy GE's healthcare finance unit for $8.5B
McLean, Va.-based Capital One Financial announced Tuesday it inked a deal with Norwalk, Conn.-based General Electric Capital to acquire its Healthcare Financial Services business and healthcare related loans for $8.5 billion. The acquisition is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
5. Erlanger fires 4 top administrators over 'unacceptable fiscal management'
Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Health System fired four top administrators Wednesday, and the health system now intends to dissolve the board of two of its community health centers. According to Erlanger CEO Kevin Spiegel, the decision was made to replace the top managers at the health centers after the facilities suffered $2.3 million in losses in the fiscal year that ended June 30.
6. Legionnaires' bacteria discovered in GlaxoSmithKline plant
GlaxoSmithKline shut down a plant in North Carolina that produces inhaled medications after routine testing revealed the presence of the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease in a cooling tower. Additionally, roughly 400 of the 850 plant employees were told to stay away until the towers are cleaned.
7. Uninsured rate falls 5.6 points since 2013: 4 things to know
The uninsured rate dropped to 11.7 percent in the first half of 2015, down from 17.3 percent in 2013, according to a Gallup poll cited by The Hill. The poll also revealed that states that expanded Medicaid and established their own health insurance marketplace saw greater decreases in uninsured rates than states that chose not to expand or establish their own marketplace.
8. UCLA Health System faces another lawsuit for data breach affecting 4.5M patients
A patient affected by the Los-Angeles based UCLA Health data breach that affected approximately 4.5 million patients filed a lawsuit in July. Now, another class action complaint has been filed. The lawsuit alleges the defendants knew the information involved in the breach was a likely target for a cyberattack and failed to take the proper protective actions.
9. CVS to pay $450k to settle prescription dispute
Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS Health agreed to pay $450,000 to settle Department of Justice allegations that some of its Rhode Island stores filled forged prescriptions with invalid DEA numbers and kept deficient records. Although CVS will pay the civil settlement worth nearly half a million dollars, it denies wrongdoing in this case.
10. Superbug infections tied to scopes may have affected VA medical centers
A federal investigation found the superbug infections linked to contaminated medical scopes at numerous civilian hospitals may have also occurred at U.S. Veterans Affairs medical centers. Roughly 100 patients treated with the scopes at nearly 40 VA centers between 2010 and 2015 tested positive for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Officials say the devices may have been a factor in at least a dozen of those cases, though the likelihood is very low.