In Brief: Illinois Blues, Walgreens Team Up To Provide ACA Information; Six Midwest Hospitals Make U.S. News List
Illinois Blues, Walgreens Team Up To Provide Information On ACA
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and pharmacy retailing giant Walgreens have teamed up to educate Illinois consumers regarding their options under the Affordable Care Act.
The entities have jointly launched a new website, learnaboutreform.com, that answers general questions about the impact of the ACA and provides some information about eligibility for insurance coverage and the health insurance exchanges.
"Walgreens is a trusted community resource for health and wellness information, and through this collaboration we hope the millions of Americans who will be entering the marketplace in October are more informed and better prepared," said Brad Fluegel, Walgreens' chief strategy officer. "There's a lot of confusion, a lot of questions, and it'll take a tremendous, collaborative effort to make sure people have the information they need to make informed choices."
However, the jointly operated website – which is hosted by the main Walgreens website – provides few links to other resources. It does include a link to the corporate website of the Illinois Blues.
Patrons of Walgreens stores will be able to obtain further information in person, officials said.
Six Midwest Hospitals Make U.S. News Honors List
U.S. News and World Report has released its list of the 18 “honor roll” hospitals in the United States. Six facilities in the Midwest received the accolade.
Those on the honor roll included the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and the Cleveland Clinic, which was ranked third and fourth, respectively. Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago was ranked sixth. Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and IU Health Academic Medical Center in Indianapolis were ranked 15th and 16th. University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland was 18th on the list.
Hospitals on the honor list had to receive top or near top scores in at least six out of 16 medical specialties.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and St. Louis Children's Hospital-Washington University also received top scores in the pediatric hospital category.
Sacred Heart Hospital Closes Abruptly
Just weeks after its top executives were arrested for alleged Medicare fraud, Sacred Heart Hospital in Chicago shut its doors.
The 119-bed for-profit facility on the West Side closed suddenly on July 1, a little more than five weeks after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it was suspending payments to the hospital.
In April, Sacred Heart Chief Executive Officer Edward Novak and Chief Financial Officer Roy Payawal were indicted and arrested on federal charges of paying kickbacks to physicians to admit Medicare patients.
The New York-based hospital turnaround firm Alvarez & Marsal was brought in to run Sacred Heart shortly after Novak and Payawal were arrested.
The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board said it would investigate Sacred Heart's abrupt closure. Under Illinois law, hospitals have to give a 90-day notice of intended closure in order to guarantee an orderly transition of care for patients and the surrounding community.
