Healthcare Roundup: P&G Buys Concierge Practice, Calif. Anthem Jacks Up Rates, NYC St. Vincent on Life Support, and More

Proctor & Gamble Buys Out Concierge Practice - Already deeply involved in consumer healthcare products, P&G has bought majority control in MDVIP, the largest concierge practice in the U.S. Each patient of MDVIP's 350 doctors in 28 states pays $1,500 a year for extra round-the-clock attention. Physicians are limited to 600 patients each in order to provide that special level of care. While the concierge approach tends to attract mostly well-heeled consumers, P&G is apparently betting that more people will buy concierge services as other doctors see extra patients to maintain their incomes and spend less time with them. [Source: Cincinnati Enquirer]

California Anthem Socks It to Individual Policyholders - Anthem Blue Cross, California's largest for-profit insurer, announced rate increases for individually purchased insurance that range from 30 to 39 percent. The insurance company also said it may start raising rates more than once a year. One plan member said that if she and her husband renew their Anthem policy, health insurance will cost them more than the mortgage on their house. Other health plans are also jacking up individual rates by large percentages, although less than Anthem has. The California Department of Insurance says it will investigate Anthem's record increase. But the carrier says it is merely passing on the rapidly rising cost of healthcare. [Source: Los Angeles Times]

St. Vincent's Given One More Month to Live - Continuum Health Partners, a consortium of five New York hospitals, has withdrawn its offer to take over the financially stricken St. Vincent's Hospital in lower Manhattan. Continuum's offer, which would involved taking on St. Vincent's huge debt, would have led to the closure of the hospital, which was strongly opposed by local politicians. New York State has agreed to pay St. Vincent's bills for the next month while the powers-that-be decide its fate. Meanwhile, across the river in Passaic, NJ, St. Mary's Hospital has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a financial reorganization. Five other New Jersey hospitals that have gone bankrupt since 2007 were not so lucky. [Sources: New York Times, Health Leaders]

Washington State Requests Cut-Rate Insurance Bids - To help the uninsured, the Washington Health Care Authority has asked private plans to submit bids for a specified benefit package in hopes of creating a coverage option that would cost only about $100 a month. The rub is that state regulations prohibit insurers from offering such skimpy benefits on their own. Consequently, they view the state plan as unfair competition and as an approach that would drain away the healthiest prospects in the individual market. Good luck with that, Washington. [Source: Puget Sound Business Journal] Illinois Court Strikes Down Malpractice Caps - The Illinois Supreme Court said the state's cap on noneconomic damages in malpractice cases violates the "separation of powers" in the state constitution by limiting the penalties that judges can impose. That other states like California and Texas have enacted similar caps did not sway the majority of the judges. Illinois' law places a ceiling on noneconomic damages of $500,000 for doctors and $1 million for hospitals. [Source: Chicago Tribune]