Docs and Hospitals, Get on Board (Everyone wins if Medicaid car is improved)

In January, we appauled Illinois lawmakers for finally passing a serious Medicaid reform bill. The state's ambitious goal: Move half of Illinois' 2.6 million Medicaid patients - that's 1 of every 5 Illinoisans into managed care by 2015. The overarching strategy is to improve health care for millions of Medicaid patients and save the state tens of millions of dollars.

As the Tribune's reported Judith Graham discovered last week, the state is pushing to enroll people in serious physical and mental disabilities in two private, HMO-style plans - Aetna Better Health and IlliniCare Health Plan.

But many doctors and hospitals have refused to join the new managed care program. The hospitals listed by Graham include Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rush University Medical Center, the University of Chicago Medical Center, Children's Memorial Hospital and Loyola University Health System. Many of these elite hospitals and physician groups are still negotiating terms and rates so all of this could/should change.

For the time being however, those hospital and doctor refusals are forcing hundreds if not thousands of poor, chronically ill patients who had been relying on them to find new doctors and make new health care arrangements.

The the complete article and more information, click here

Be There For Your Patients

We know how busy physicians are during their work day, but as a patient we want the most personal care we can get. An article from MedicalOfficeToday.com, "Supporting Your Patients Outside Your Office," talks about how physicians can help their patients even when they can't meet with them one on one. One example the article mentions is from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Their patients that have surgery must go through pre and post activities that are used to help with their success. To learn more, click here.