Health News
Hospitals are banding together to create organizations better able to withstand the changing tides of the economy and health-care policy. The proposed merger of Louisville's Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare, Lexington-based Saint Joseph Health System and University Hospital at the University of Louisville is just one of many examples.
- Kentuckyone Health Lays Off 500 Of 15,000 Employees, Says It Won't Fill 200 Vacancies; Cites Obamacare And Merger
KentuckyOne Health, which dominates the Louisville hospital market and has scores of locations across the state, says it has laid off 500 of its 15,000 employees and identified 200 vacancies that it won't fill, as it adjusts to federal health reform...
- Beshear Talks To University Hospital Officials About Future
Gov. Steve Beshear met with officials with University Hospital officials yesterday to discuss ways the facility can take part in a merger. Last week, Beshear rejected a much-publicized proposal that would have unified University Hospital with Jewish...
- Critics, Proponents Debate Louisville Hospital Merger
Questions regarding ectopic pregnancy, end-of-life care and funding for indigent care were addressed Wednesday by proponents and critics of a proposed merger between University Hospital, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare and St. Joseph Health...
- Baptist-trover Hospital Merger Another Example Of Trend
Though the proposed merger of Saint Joseph Health System, University Hospital and Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare has grabbed recent headlines, another merger is under way, with Baptist Healthcare System hoping to expand its reach to Western...
- University Hospital Is Public, Not Private, So State Has Say On Merger, Conway Says
Louisville's University Hospital is a public institution, not a private one, which means the state gets a say about the proposed merger between the hospital, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare and Lexington-based St. Joseph Health System,...
Health News
Louisville hospital merger would be just one of dozens across the country, driven by economic and regulatory concerns
Hospitals are banding together to create organizations better able to withstand the changing tides of the economy and health-care policy. The proposed merger of Louisville's Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare, Lexington-based Saint Joseph Health System and University Hospital at the University of Louisville is just one of many examples."The small, community hospital is soon to go the way of the dinosaurs," said Angela Mattie, associate professor of health-care management of Connecticut's Quinnipiac University, told Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal.
Through September, 2011 had seen 71 mergers nationwide involving 132 hospitals worth $6.9 billion, plus another four deals in October. In all of last year, there were 74 mergers involving 126 hospitals and $5.8 billion, Ungar reports.
The poor economy is part of the reason for hospital systems merging because "people don't use hospitals as often; even those with insurance sometimes forego care to avoid co-pays," Ungar reports. In a tight economy, credit is more difficult to obtain, but bigger, richer systems have less trouble. Finances are a major impetus behind the big Louisville merger, with officials at University Hospital and Jewish arguing "if they don't merge they'll lack the money to make improvements going forward, partly because of economic pressures such as rising levels of indigent care," Ungar reports.
The poor economy is part of the reason for hospital systems merging because "people don't use hospitals as often; even those with insurance sometimes forego care to avoid co-pays," Ungar reports. In a tight economy, credit is more difficult to obtain, but bigger, richer systems have less trouble. Finances are a major impetus behind the big Louisville merger, with officials at University Hospital and Jewish arguing "if they don't merge they'll lack the money to make improvements going forward, partly because of economic pressures such as rising levels of indigent care," Ungar reports.
Catholic Health Initiatives, which owns the Saint Joseph Health System, plans to invest $320 million "to launch the merged network and strengthen its balance sheet," said CHI spokeswoman Mary Elise Biegert. Of another $300 million that would be generated by operations, two-thirds would be invested in Louisville's academic health center and $100 million would help pay for a switch to electronic health records.
Experts also say big systems have more bargaining power with health insurers, nd the federal health-care reform law means "It makes sense to enlarge a hospital system to capture as many as possible of the 30 million Americans expected to eventually be newly insured under the new law," Ungar writes.
Mergers also allow hospitals to consolidate and save costs, "by having one human resource or finance department instead of three," Ungar reports. (Read more) For another story on what has been termed "merger mania," click here.
- Kentuckyone Health Lays Off 500 Of 15,000 Employees, Says It Won't Fill 200 Vacancies; Cites Obamacare And Merger
KentuckyOne Health, which dominates the Louisville hospital market and has scores of locations across the state, says it has laid off 500 of its 15,000 employees and identified 200 vacancies that it won't fill, as it adjusts to federal health reform...
- Beshear Talks To University Hospital Officials About Future
Gov. Steve Beshear met with officials with University Hospital officials yesterday to discuss ways the facility can take part in a merger. Last week, Beshear rejected a much-publicized proposal that would have unified University Hospital with Jewish...
- Critics, Proponents Debate Louisville Hospital Merger
Questions regarding ectopic pregnancy, end-of-life care and funding for indigent care were addressed Wednesday by proponents and critics of a proposed merger between University Hospital, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare and St. Joseph Health...
- Baptist-trover Hospital Merger Another Example Of Trend
Though the proposed merger of Saint Joseph Health System, University Hospital and Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare has grabbed recent headlines, another merger is under way, with Baptist Healthcare System hoping to expand its reach to Western...
- University Hospital Is Public, Not Private, So State Has Say On Merger, Conway Says
Louisville's University Hospital is a public institution, not a private one, which means the state gets a say about the proposed merger between the hospital, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare and Lexington-based St. Joseph Health System,...