Heathcare Roundup: HCA Profits Rise, Allina Refunds Interest, Electronic Scripts Up, and More

(MoneyWatch)  HCA profits rise ?€" The profits of HCA, the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain, are expected to rise markedly for the first quarter of 2009. HCA said that it anticipates first-quarter pre-tax income of $600 to $650 million, compared with $344 million for the prior-year period. Revenue is predicted to reach $7.4 billion, up from $7.27 billion for the year-earlier quarter. The increase in revenue stemmed largely from higher outpatient volume; same-facility hospital admissions dropped slightly. Meanwhile, HCA and other hospitals across the country are raising charges in an effort to counter the effects of the recession on their bottom line. Still, the news from HCA will help quell fears that health care, too, is on the ropes. Another source of comfort: HCA has sold $1.5 billion of 10-year notes with a yield of 9 percent. [Sources: Fierce Healthcare, Modern Healthcare, The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean]

Allina refunds unlawful interest charges ?€" One of Minnesota's largest healthcare systems, Allina, will refund about $1.1 million to patients who were charged high interest rates on their hospital balances. Under a settlement with the state's attorney general, Allina will reimburse patients who paid more than 8 percent in interest between 2007 and 2009. The not-for-profit system's credit unit charged some patients up to 18 percent on their debts. Now no patient will have to pay more than 8 percent--still a pretty high rate in the current economy. [Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune]

California hospitals want to hire doctors directly ?€" California's corporate practice of medicine law prohibits hospitals from employing physicians directly, unless they're teaching or public hospitals. Instead, they have to contract with physician groups, usually through foundations. But the California Hospital Association is trying to change that, arguing that hospitals have to reverse the rapid decline of physicians in rural and inner-city areas. The California Medical Association takes the opposite position, saying that corporate practice of medicine statutes--which are also found in Ohio, Iowa, Texas, and Colorado--are needed to prevent hospitals from exerting too much power over physicians. What's unclear is how these states differ from the rest of the country, where the absence of such laws does not seem to have led to the demise of private practice. [Source: HealthLeaders Media]

Spike in electronic prescriptions ?€" The Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Services apparently got a lot of physicians thinking when it offered them a 2 percent bonus for electronic prescribing. Walgreens pharmacies filled 3.1 million electronic prescriptions in March, which is a 211 percent increase from March 2008. The company expects to receive 40 million e-prescriptions this year; last year, it filled only 15 million. Walgreens said it expects the health IT incentives in the federal stimulus legislation to boost e-prescribing further. [Source: iHealthBeat]

Home sweet medical home ?€" The New York State Health Department will give $60 million in grants this year to practices that function as patient-centered medical homes. This is the latest in a series of health IT grants that New York has provided as part of a $1 billion healthcare reform effort that began in 2006. Altogether, the state has poured nearly $159 million into health IT. A "medical home" is defined as a site where a personal physician coordinates all of a patient's care. The reason why it involves health IT is that the use of an electronic medical record is considered essential for the coordination of care. But practices must reengineer themselves in many other ways to be recognized as medical homes. [Source: Modern Healthcare]