Nurses strike, claim care is threatened

Article Abstract:

Nurses at Saint Joseph Medical Center, Joliet, IL, are on strike because of the hospital's practice of arbitrarily assigning nurses to serve in unrelated areas. The nurses claim the practice lowers the quality of care delivered to patients, because nurses must perform work for which they are not trained. Hospital executives claim nurses are transferred only to assignments which require lower skills. The Saint Joseph nurses recommend cross-training to ameliorate the problem.

Offices of health practitioners, not elsewhere classified, Nurses, Labor relations

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Supreme Court, Texas law strike blows at ERISA

Article Abstract:

The Supreme Court has ruled that three hospitals in New York State owned by employee benefit plans were subject to indigent care taxation in that state, and could not claim protection under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). In addition, legislation has been enacted in Texas that makes health maintenance organizations liable for health care decisions. The ERISA preemption for HMOs will be tested against this law in the courts.

Cases, Social policy, Texas

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Antitrust guides, part II: feds set new merger policy

Article Abstract:

Federal Trade Commission Chair Robert Pitofsky told the National Health Lawyers Assn that the federal government will issue new antitrust policies which make mergers between hospitals and physician groups easier if the unit will see significant savings. Merger guidelines and their possible changes are discussed along with changes to antitrust rules about health industry joint ventures which occurred in August, 1996.

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors, Antitrust Law, Interpretation and construction, Health care industry, Acquisitions and mergers

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