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House approves healthcare reform bill

One chamber down, one to go

The House passed its version of the bill, can the Senate do the same?

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the healthcare reform bill (HR 3962) by a narrow margin (220–215). The bill’s estimated cost is more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years.

The Senate is working on its own version of the bill. If that version passes, then a congressional conference committee will meet to compromise on the two versions. If the committee reaches a compromise, it will send that bill would to both the House and Senate for another vote. If it passes both houses, the next step is President Obama’s desk for his signature.

Preliminary drafts of the Senate bill differ from the House version with respect to funding. how many individuals will be covered, and the availability of a public option.

Source: CNN

Safe discharge plans for the uninsured

With today’s economy, almost everyone’s budgets are tight. Hospitals are faced with increasing numbers of uninsured and undocumented patients, but are struggling to find the resources to fund care and discharge for these patients.


Matt Boettcher, LCSW, the director of case management at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ, has developed a charity committee model that helps his facility handle these patients. He is also an expert on the dilemma and politics of this issue, and is ready to give you advice.

Push play to hear what he had to say in an interview:

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In an upcoming audio conference (7.15.09), Matt will give solutions for dealing with the uninsured. He will cover:

The uninsured dilemma: Growing implications for hospitals

  • National picture of the uninsured
  • The new “medically poor”
  • Undocumented aliens
    • Location
    • Regional differences
    • Exhaustion of benefits
    • Medical repatriation to country of origin

Politics

  • Alternatives to hospital care
  • More generous or more restrictive Medicaid programs
  • Government vs. community programs – services in the community which may be dependent on grants/tax revenue.
  • Universal healthcare

Losing money by not spending money

  • Federal regulations
  • Non-profit hospital
  • Charity programs
  • Criteria for community benefit

Solution: Implementing a charity committee

  • Complex case examples with charity committee intervention: Strategies to handle difficult discharges
    • Community discharge of unfunded patient
    • International discharge case


Click here to sign up for Caring for Uninsured and Undocumented Patients: Safe and Cost-Effective Discharge Solutions–live audio conference on July 15, 2009.

Questions? Ideas for future shows? Contact me, Julie McGinley, at JMcGinley@hcpro.com.