Do NOT call 911 in California

…unless you call from a land line.  If you call from your cell phone, you may be in for a busy signal or wait times of 20 minutes or more.  Why is this?  Emergency Management explains: In California, all cellular 911 calls were initially routed to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), on the theory that…

Financial Outlook for Non-Profit Healthcare Firms…

…is poor according to Moody’s. “By limiting the expansion of insurance coverage, the ruling blunts the impact of one of the law’s few credit positive features. Uncertainty regarding which states will and will not participate in the Medicaid expansion adds to the political gridlock regarding healthcare reform, making it increasingly difficult for hospitals to perform…

Book Review: Priceless

I recently read a very interesting book by John Goodman titled “Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis“. Whereas President Obama’s Health Reform plan focuses on increasing access to medical services by expanding the government’s role in the medical marketplace, Goodman advocates reducing regulation and adding flexibility to the health insurance and medical markets. The book is…

Rationing comes to Massachusetts

Massachusetts legislature passed a first-in-the-nation bill limits the growth of health care costs in the state. “The bill would not allow spending on health care to grow any faster than the state’s economy through 2017. For five years after that, any rise in health care costs would need to be half a percentage point lower…

Aetna bets on Obamacare

Today, Aetna, the third-largest U.S. health plan, agreed to buy Coventry Health Care for $5.6 billion.  Aetna paid a 20 percent premium for Coventry.  Why is Coventry such an attractive target? The answer is that President Obama’s Health Reform will greatly expand the number of people eligilbe for Medicaid.  Since many states are moving towards…