Nurses’ Union Flexes Its Muscle
WASHINGTON — The nurses at Washington Hospital Center were all set to wear red scrubs — the union color — yesterday in preparation for a strike tomorrow. But those scrubs can be put away, at least for now.
The union canceled the one-day strike and management put controversial pay cuts on hold, as both sides agreed to resume talks after the holiday.
That turn of events reflects an aggressive strategy by a national nurses’ union, analysts say: Its members are growing in numbers, and they have not been afraid to walk picket lines. The huge costs of hiring temporary nurses — and, probably, bad publicity — have forced institutions like the hospital center to return to bargaining on staffing and wages.
US Mandates Strict New Cost Management For Health Insurers
WASHINGTON — Health insurance premiums should go toward actual medical care — not insurers’ overhead and profits — the Obama administration said yesterday in rules that for the first time require the companies to give consumers a rebate.
Drug Makers’ Payments Detailed - The Boston Globe
Massachusetts health officials published online yesterday the most comprehensive state database in the country listing payments drug companies and medical device makers have made to doctors, nurses, pharmacists, hospitals, and other health care providers.
The report lists $35.7 million in payments from hundreds of companies for the six months between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2009, for speaking, consulting, food, educational programs, marketing studies, and charitable donations.
Medical Costs Are Slowing In The Bay State, But At What Price?
We’ve spent years imagining what it would take to slow down the growth of medical costs in Massachusetts, and now we’re living it.
The big trend of 2010: many people using fewer products and services — going without, postponing, or following a different medical course that costs less. It’s not happening in every category of medical care, and some declines require a microscope to detect. But there’s no mistaking the broad trend reported by hospitals, insurers, and even leading pharmacy chains.
Snowe, Collins Back Lawsuit Challenging Health-Care Law
Posted at 12:25 PM ET, 11/22/2010
By Matt DeLong
This post was last updated at 1:42 p.m.
The Portland (Maine) Press-Herald reports that both of Maine's senators -- Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins -- are signing on to a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new health-care law.
No comments:
Post a Comment