In Brief: Prime Hospital Settles Patient Breach Case; California Counties To Buy Insurance On Private Exchange
Prime Hospital Settles Patient Breach Case
A Northern California hospital owned by Ontario-based Prime Healthcare Services has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights for breaching patient privacy.
Shasta Regional Medical Center will pay $275,000 to settle the allegations, which stem from an incident last year in which it shared a patient's files with a columnist for the Los Angeles Times in response to her published complaints about the care she received at the hospital. The patient shared the complaints with the investigative journalism website California Watch.
Prime did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The California Department of Public Health also fined Prime $95,000 for the breach, which it is appealing.
In a statement issued by Prime, it said it expects another federal investigation regarding billing issues at its California hospitals to be settled in the “near future.” It said both probes were linked to a union-backed “vicious corporate campaign.”
California Counties To Buy Insurance On Private Exchange
The California State Association of Counties Finance Corp. has reached an agreement with Extend Health to offer its Medicare-eligible retirees and dependents coverage through the company's privately-operated exchange.
Extend was pick after a competitive bidding process. It offers Medicare coverage from 85 different payers. Altogether, about 300 different private sector employers and trade associations buy coverage through Extend.
“This partnership allows California counties to increase
heir retirees’ health coverage options, and gives them expert advice to pick the best coverage for them with a program that is cost-effective and sustainable for the county,” said Nancy Parrish, the CSAC Finance Corp.'s executive director.
Extend Health is a subsidiary of Towers Watson consulting firm, which acquired it last year.
Bank of America Sells Art For Hospital Donation
The San Francisco General Hospital Foundation has received a $1.12 million pledge from Bank of America, the proceeds from the financial giant auctioning off a portion of its art collection.
The funds were generated by an auction held in San Francisco last week, and another auction held last month through the Sotheby's auction house in New York City.
“We are honored to be the beneficiary of this unique fundraising effort,” said Stephanie Bray, executive director of the San Francisco General Hospital
Foundation, the charitable foundation for the 632-bed hospital, which also provides the city's only level-1 trauma center. “Thanks to Bank of America’s leadership, the funds raised through these auctions will help ensure that San Francisco has a truly world-class hospital that saves lives, serves the communities in need, and improves medicine across the globe.”
