UMass Memorial Medical Center Nurses Ratify New One-Year Contract
WORCESTER, MA – After just a handful of negotiating sessions held over the last two months, the 2,214 nurses represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association at the UMass Memorial and UMass University campuses have cast overwhelming votes to ratify respective one-year contracts that provide the nurses with needed staffing increases, a modest pay raise and a novel “Respectful Relationship†clause that the nurses hope will lead to safer care for patients and a more satisfying environment.
Massachusetts Nurses Association
Jun 15, 2015
A Win For Public Health, For Now: Fast Track Stalled by Today’s Vote
As a House of Representatives vote Friday stalled Fast Track authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, National Nurses United (NNU) —the largest organization of nurses in the country—has announced that its 190,000 members are doubling down pressure on Congress to derail Fast Track for good.
National Nurses United
Jun 13, 2015
Fast Track/TPP Stalled Today. We Must Kill it for Good!
Nurses and supporters have never had a more critical time to hold our ground! In an important vote, Fast Track authority was stalled on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today. But the corporate opponents of public health are pushing for a reconsideration either on Monday or Tuesday. We must act this weekend to stop Fast Track for good—as it could pave the way for corporations to overturn nurse-to-patient ratios, for medication costs to skyrocket, and other public health threats.
National Nurses United
Are hospitals price-gouging some patients?
A new study published in the journal “Health Affairs,†is claiming 50 hospitals are billing uninsured patients more than 10 times the cost of care set by Medicare. Jean Ross, Co-President of National Nurses United joins Tamron Hall on NewsNation.
MSNBC
Registered Nurses Urge DC Council to Protect Patients
Washington, D.C. – Registered nurses filled the District of Columbia Council chamber today to urge the council’s Committee on Business, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to improve public safety and protect vulnerable hospital patients by enacting the Patient Protection Act.
National Nurses United
Jun 11, 2015
Recent DOJ Enforcement Actions Demonstrate that the Focus on Mental Health Services Fraud Continues
Two recent actions announced by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), one civil and one criminal, along with a recent speech by Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell, illustrate the current climate of government enforcement related to mental health services (i.e., intensive outpatient psychotherapy (IOP) and partial hospitalization program (PHP) services).
Amanda Enyeart and Laura B. Morgan, Mondaq
Metro Health's Proposed Partner Operates 25 Hospitals Accused of 'Price-Gouging'
Of 50 U.S. hospitals identified as having the highest price markups for uninsured patients, half are owned by the health system that plans to merge with Metro Health. Community Health Systems Inc., a for-profit system based in Franklin, Tenn., operates 25 of the hospitals on the list, according to an article in The Washington Post.
Sue Thoms, MLive Media Group
No Vote on Trade Pact Needed to Protect U.S. Interests
San Diego congressional representatives Susan Davis and Scott Peters remain undecided about pending international trade measures that will have tremendous impacts on San Diego.
Brenna Norton & Deborah Burger, San Diego Union Tribune
Many U.S. hospitals mark up prices 1,000 percent: study
Even the astronomical price markups that consumers regularly pay for, say, wine in restaurants pale beside those in some U.S. hospitals: The price for procedures is often 10 times the cost, according to a study published on Monday in the journal Health Affairs.
Sharon Begley, Reuters
Feds, State Settle Part of Big Hospital Kickback Scheme
Part of a big Georgia hospital kickback case will be settled for nearly $1 million, while a related criminal investigation into a major national hospital company continues.
Atlanta Business Chronicle