(Circulation. 2001;103:e9011.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.
Cardiovascular News
Over the next 2 years, US hospitals can expect to see depressed margins or profits, said the credit rating agency Fitch in a report released January 22, 2001. According to the AHA News Now, which is published on the Internet by the American Hospital Association, the credit rating agency said hospitals will need at least 2 years to recover from low reimbursements from the federal government in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Escalating personnel and supply costs are expected to contribute to hospital losses, said the agency in its report. The chronic nursing shortage is expected to continue unabated and strain the abilities of hospitals to operate effectively. As hospitals make more use of nurses hired from temporary agencies, they will see their operating costs continue to grow because such nurses cost at least twice as much as nurses employed by the hospital. The report, Default Implications for Hospitals and Health Care Systems, can be found on the firm’s website at http://www.fitchratings.com/corporate/reports/report.cfm?rpt_id=115341.
Medicare Begins Pilot Prescription Drug Program in Mine Workers Union
In a 3-year experimental program, retired members of the United Mine Workers of America, who receive health benefits from a Medicare-underwritten retirement fund, will be reimbursed 27% of the costs of an existing prescription drug program. The program, which is slated to begin July 1, 2001, is still in the planning stages, said spokespersons for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
HHS personnel said that although the trial was announced on
the last day of the Clinton administration, they did not think that