health care administration

Ontario family refuses to pay hospital bill

23/09/2024 - by zebra

A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated — and she says she has no intention of paying it.

Michele Campeau and her 83-year-old mother, Ruth Poupard, are caught up in a relatively new law that allows hospitals to place discharged patients into nursing homes not of their choosing in order to free up beds. If patients refuse to move, they face a fine of $400 per day as they remain in the hospital.

The bill came from Hotel-Dieu Grace

Health Care

In distress, Steward proposes sale of doctors group to Optum

08/09/2024 - by zebra

Financially distressed Steward Health Care plans to sell its network of doctors to a division of the for-profit health care giant, UnitedHealth Group, for an undisclosed sum.

The deal is part of Steward’s effort to climb out of a financial hole that has shaken the Massachusetts health care industry. Public officials and health care leaders are deeply concerned the company could shutter medical services amid its financial troubles, which would reduce patients’ access to care and could destabilize the state’s health care system.

Steward revealed his plans in a notice to the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission Tuesday. The company said

Health Care

New WHO assessment reveals resilience of Ukraine’s primary health-care system amid the war

02/07/2024 - by zebra

While nearly half of Ukraine’s primary health-care (PHC) facilities have experienced staff absences due to the war, the majority have continued to provide essential health services with the available workforce, according to a recent WHO assessment on continuity of essential health services during the war in Ukraine.

The volume of services changed in 2/3 of facilities due to decreasing patients’ attendance in some regions with simultaneous increase in other regions. An increased volume of services was mainly related to caring for non-registered patients or changes in patients’ needs due to hospitality.

Ukraine’s primary health-care system has already been under stress