SEPTEMBER
2011
INDUSTRY NEWS
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oyota sets an example
Aspiring docs need social skills
CMS charts health spending
Is N.H. making a mess
out of Medicaid?
10 hospitals file federal lawsuit
to block fiscal 2012-13 budget
HOSPITALS & IDNS 13
A facility-wide approach
to crisis management
When planning for a disaster,
don't forget the supply chain
SOLUTIONS & SERVICES 24
COMMENTARY
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Where’s the silver lining?
Physicians face more challenges
aking on ‘repeat offenders’
HOSPITALS & IDNs
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Hospitals sue New Hampshire
CMS updates IPPS
How much do kids cost hospitals?
COMMUNITY CARE
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ips for senior living
How do you choose an EHR?
Finding success in a family office
PAYERS
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National Medicaid plan eyed
Aetna partners with Genesis
Study targets insurance costs
SOLUTIONS & SERVICES 00 24
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Biomaterials market on the rise
What's driving M&As?
Preparing a disaster plan
TRENDS 00 PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY 26
Calif. Supreme Court
ruling serves as warning
; Text Nurses, finance work together
PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY 00 TRENDS 28
Docs should honor
patient privacy
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JOB SPOT
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M&A
activity
up in
2011
Experts predict record
year for mergers
and acquisitions
www.HealthcareFinanceNews.com
Med Tech Media/Vol. 6 No. 7
By Stephanie Bouchard, Associate Editor
LOS ANGELES – A ruling made by
the California Supreme Court in
June may be binding only in that
state, but it has implications for
doctors across the country.
In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court reversed an
appellate court ruling that had concluded that the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA) preempted
California’s Confidentiality Act. The
reversal reinstated a damage suit
brought by Robert Brown against a
debt collection agency run by Stewart Mortensen.
In an attempt to collect $600 on
behalf of Brown’s dentist for a pro-
cedure Brown said he never had,
Mortensen repeatedly and without
authorization disclosed Brown’s and
his family’s (including Brown’s minor
children) private medical records
and other information, such as Social
Security numbers and dates of birth,
to credit reporting agencies such as
Experian, Equifax and Trans Union.
Medicare cuts looming
Super Committee likely
to target Medicare in
deficit reduction
By Chris Anderson, Senior Editor
WASHINGTON – Healthcare industry watchers are bracing for cuts to
government sponsored healthcare
programs once the so-called “Super
Committee” begins working on ways
to slash another $1.5 trillion from
the budget over the next 10 years.
Even President Barack Obama
has indicated that all items, including Medicare and Medicaid, should
be on the table.
“We will not be able to sustain
(Medicare) no matter how much
COURTESY OF SHU TTERSTOCK/SEANPAVONEPHO TO
By René Letourneau, Managing Editor
NORWALK, CT – It’s going
to be a record-breaking year
for mergers and acquisitions
(M&A) in the healthcare industry, according to a recent report
from Irving Levin Associates.
In its Health Care M&A
Report, the Norwalk, Conn.-based company reported that
the dollar volume committed
to merger
and acquisition activity
in the healthcare industry
during the
second quarter of 2011
surged over
the comparable figures in the
first quarter (up 44 percent)
and those of second quarter
2010 (up 61 percent).
O'Connor
Based on the numbers
revealed to date, a total of
$73.5 billion was spent to
finance 243 mergers and
acquisitions in the healthcare
industry in the second quarter of this year. With regard to
dollar volume, M&A activity is
on track to break all previous
records in this market.
The largest M&A sectors were
medical devices with more than
$33 billion being spent (up 45
percent) and pharmaceuticals
The Super Committee, charged with
finding $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction,
is likely to target the Medicare program
for some of those cuts.
taxes go up,” Obama said at a July
press briefing on the debt ceiling
debate. “I mean, it’s not an option
for us to just sit by and do nothing.”
With Medicare, Medicaid and
CHIP accounting for roughly 20 percent of the annual budget, it's a logical target for the committee.
“The Super Committee cannot
avoid looking at Medicare, Medicaid
or Social Security,” said Marc Gold-
wein, policy director for the bipar-
tisan Committee for a Responsible
Federal Budget. “Those programs
are responsible for our continued
debt problems.”
With a tight time frame to work on
a package, the 12-member committee
