Boston health organizations plan merger

Partners HealthCare and Neighborhood Health Plan sign letter of intent for merger. In other hospital issues, Parkland Hospital In Dallas is in danger of losing Medicare accreditation and Conn. regulators are criticized.

Modern Healthcare: Safety Net Health Plan To Join Partners HealthCare
Not-for-profit system Partners HealthCare, Boston, signed a letter of intent with Neighborhood Health Plan, Boston, that would have the safety net not-for-profit managed-care organization become a part of 12-hospital Partners. No money would change hands under the agreement, according to Partners spokesman Rich Copp. Neighborhood Health has 240,000 members and employs more than 400 people, and would operate as a separate legal entity, according to a fact sheet on the agreement (Barr, 8/11).

Modern Physician: Parkland May Lose Medicare Eligibility
Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas could be terminated from the Medicare and Medicaid programs in September after a CMS survey found "immediate and serious" threats to patient health and safety (Lee, 8/11). 

The Connecticut Mirror: Auditors Say Investigations By Hospital Oversight Office 'Not Adequate'
The state Office of Health Care Access failed to collect nearly $47,000 in payments from hospitals and did not properly investigate consumer complaints about hospital billing, according to a report by state auditors released this week (Levin Becker, 8/11).