Ballad Health, a state-sanctioned hospital monopoly, can now be deemed a benefit to the public with performance that would earn a “D” on most grading scales, state documents show.
Longtime CHS Chief Stepping Down After Years Of Struggle To Turn Around Hospital Chain
Wayne Smith has led the hospital chain Community Health Systems for 23 years. It briefly ran even more hospitals than HCA. But in recent years, the company has been forced to sell off dozens of them.
Why Some Tennessee Hospitals Are Opting Out Of Filing Opioid Lawsuits
Hundreds of hospitals around the country, including more than two dozen in Tennessee, have joined litigation against the makers of opioid painkillers. But most hospitals are staying out, even as they claim to suffer losses related to the opioid epidemic.
HCA Welcomes Latest Hospital Price Transparency Push
Listen The largest hospital company in the country says it welcomes more transparency about what it charges for many procedures. Nashville-based HCA is also interested to see the prices charged by its competition.
Study: Nashville’s For-Profit Hospital Systems Are Among The Most Expensive
Listen The for-profit hospital industry based in Nashville finds itself among the most expensive health care systems in the country. That’s according to a new study from the RAND Corporation, though the hospital companies quibble with the conclusions.
Nashville-Based Hospital Chain Studies Sponge Baths To Combat MRSA
Listen HCA is expanding an effort to control infections acquired in its hospitals with a souped-up sponge bath. This follows a study conducted in 53 HCA facilities and published in the journal The Lancet.
Why Hospitals Publishing Prices Is Just A ‘Baby Step’ Toward Transparency
Listen Patients will have a slightly easier time shopping around for care starting in 2019. U.S. hospitals will now be required to publish their price lists in a format that a computer could easily analyze.
Cool Springs-Based Community Health Systems Pays $260M To Settle Fraud Case
Listen A massive hospital chain with thousands of employees in Cool Springs and Antioch is on the hook for a quarter-billion-dollar settlement with the federal government. The payout is larger than expected for Community Health Systems, but it also lifts a cloud that has been hanging over the company by protecting it from criminal prosecution.
Nashville Price Transparency Firm Tells Congress To Police Health Care Consolidation
Listen A Nashville-based health care firm warns that consolidation in the hospital industry is driving up prices of tests and procedures. A co-founder of Healthcare Bluebook appeared before senators Tuesday amid a series of hearings on the ballooning cost of health care.
Citing Tax Bill Savings, HCA Funnels More Money Into Employee Tuition Scholarships
Listen HCA is taking some of its tax savings to fund workforce development. The Nashville-based hospital chain expects to have an extra $500 million a year under the recently approved tax laws, which reduced the company’s effective tax rate to 25 percent.
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