Health

HEALTH • Spring 2017 5 Baker may drop small business health insurance assessment The Baker administration's plan to levy heavy per-employee assessments on businesses that don't meet proposed health insurance requirements may be cut from his fiscal 2018 budget pro- posal. The plan would impose a $2,000 per employee assessment on compa- nies with 11 or more employees that don't offer health coverage or that do not insure at least 80 percent of their full-time employees. In a March 21 hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said that the administration is open to an alter- native to the assessment. Framingham clinic operators to pay $13.5M for deceptive marketing FRAMINGHAM — Operators of an unlicensed Framingham clinic that marketed medications and services for erectile dysfunction have been ordered to pay $13.5 million, the Attorney General's Office announced. Kevin Hornsby, a licensed medical doctor, was ordered to pay $11 mil- lion in civil penalties and his wife, Heidi Hornsby, was ordered to pay $2.5 million, after a Suffolk Superior Court judgment went against them. The latest ruling follows one last August in which the clinic itself was ordered to pay $17 million. Of that, $6.3 million was for restitution. Suit against UMass-affiliated Shields dismissed A U.S. District Court judge has dis- missed a wrongful-practices lawsuit against Shields Health Solutions by its former president. Tom Guilfoile sued Shields last year, alleging the co- founder of the pharmacy manage- ment services company, Jack Shields Sr., directed illegal payments to sev- eral hospitals in exchange for refer- rals, and was involved with fraudu- lently diverting company assets for his own personal financial gain, and falsely represented company contracts with hospitals. GE Healthcare buys maternity firm MARLBOROUGH — GE { Health Care Briefs } Healthcare, which has its national headquarters in Marlborough, has bought a fetal-monitoring device company as it looks to expand in the maternal and infant care business, it announced. GE bought Monica Healthcare, a British company, for an undisclosed price. Monica Healthcare had more than 100,000 expecting mothers use its fetal monitors last year, the company said. Doctors oppose ACA replacement The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) has formally opposed the American Health Care Act, the bill put forth by House Republicans to replace the Affordable Care Act, according to a March 10 statement from MMS President Dr. James S. Gessner. "By placing a cap on federal Medicaid funding, the bill would force many low-income people in the common- wealth to lose their health coverage," Gessner said in the statement. Tenet to sell home health business MARLBOROUGH — Louisiana- based Amedisys Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Tenet Healthcare's home health and hospice operations in Massachusetts and three other states, according to a company statement. The agreement to acquire Tenet's MetroWest Home Health and Hospice business, based in Marlborough, is scheduled to close May 1 pending regulatory approval. Fallon Health reports $20M annual loss WORCESTER — Worcester health insurance company Fallon Health reported a net loss of $20 million last year on $1.2 billion in revenue, record- ing its second consecutive annual loss, it reported. Fallon's 2016 performance roughly tripled its loss from the previ- ous year. Revenue stayed flat from 2015 to 2016, while membership rose slightly, by about 2 percent. Richard Burke, Fallon's president and chief executive officer, said the company is expanding partnerships with health plan providers in an effort to improve quality and control costs. We offer: • Long-term and short-term care • Ancillary Services: dental, eye, podiatry provided at the nursing home • Respite and Hospice Care • PT/OT/ST Rehab services; 7 days a week • Full time Physician Assistant • Continuing Care Community: Assisted Living services and Independent Living cottages & apartments on the Briarwood Community campus "Healthcare Environment State of the Art" • Restaurant-style dining room • Bright and airy rooms • Activities; 7 days a week • Cable TV and telephones available in each room • Resident computer and free access to internet • Pet therapy through Tufts Veterinary Program Schedule a Tour Today! www.knollwoodnursingcenter.com 87 Briarwood Circle, Worcester, MA 01606 508-853-6910 Continued on Page 6 UMass Memorial plans inpatient psychiatric unit closures UMass Memorial Health Care in February announced it had notified the state of plans to reduce the number of beds in its 28-bed inpatient acute psychiatric unit on the University campus in Worcester by about 50 percent, clearing the way for additional medical-surgical beds in the hospital's 8 East unit. Hospital spokesman Anthony Berry later said UMass Memorial will maintain 13 beds while sending patients to other sites within the UMass Memorial Health Care system for treatment, including the Psychiatric Treatment and Recovery Center, an acute psychiatric unit on Queen Street in Worcester, as well as ser- vices at Clinton Hospital and Marlborough Hospital, and Worcester-based Community Healthlink, which provides inpatient and outpatient mental health services under the UMass Memorial umbrella, to make up for the lost capacity at the University Campus.

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