Medical Care Industry Texas

Medical Care International Inc., the nation's largest operator of non-hospital surgical centers, and Critical Care America Inc., the biggest independent U.S. provider of home health care services, said Wednesday that they will merge. Saying their goal is to revolutionize the health care industry, the companies announced that they will form a new company called Medical Care America Inc. The merger is expected to be completed in late summer or early fall.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan in Texas routinely refused to pay for emergency room care, even in some cases where Kaiser nurses advised patients to seek emergency treatment, according to a controversial state report released by Texas regulators. The report, provided to The Times on Wednesday, also said Kaiser failed to act on complaints against its physicians, and it faulted the company for "an unacceptable disregard for quality-of-care issues."

The Texas Medical Center in Houston, the nation's largest and richest health complex, pours $4 billion a year into cutting-edge research and care. Insured patients at Houston's Methodist Hospital are met with valet parking, uniformed bellhops and a 24-hour concierge. Dallas has more multimillion-dollar magnetic resonance imaging machines than the entire country of Canada--and Houston has even more than Dallas.

The Texas Medical Center in Houston, the nation's largest and richest health complex, pours $4 billion a year into cutting-edge research and care. Insured patients at Houston's Methodist Hospital are met with valet parking, uniformed bellhops and a 24-hour concierge. Dallas has more multimillion-dollar magnetic resonance imaging machines than the entire country of Canada--and Houston has even more than Dallas.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan in Texas routinely refused to pay for emergency room care, even in some cases where Kaiser nurses advised patients to seek emergency treatment, according to a controversial state report released by Texas regulators. The report, provided to The Times on Wednesday, also said Kaiser failed to act on complaints against its physicians, and it faulted the company for "an unacceptable disregard for quality-of-care issues."

In a significant development for the troubled for-profit psychiatric hospital industry, National Medical Enterprises on Wednesday agreed to a $9-million settlement and a series of reforms at its Texas hospitals, ending a suit brought by the Texas attorney general. Without admitting wrongdoing, Santa Monica-based NME agreed to court-mandated rules for recruiting and admitting patients to its facilities and agreed to pay certain state legal expenses and to provide some patient financial aid.

Medical Care International Inc., the nation's largest operator of non-hospital surgical centers, and Critical Care America Inc., the biggest independent U.S. provider of home health care services, said Wednesday that they will merge. Saying their goal is to revolutionize the health care industry, the companies announced that they will form a new company called Medical Care America Inc. The merger is expected to be completed in late summer or early fall.

In a significant development for the troubled for-profit psychiatric hospital industry, National Medical Enterprises on Wednesday agreed to a $9-million settlement and a series of reforms at its Texas hospitals, ending a suit brought by the Texas attorney general. Without admitting wrongdoing, Santa Monica-based NME agreed to court-mandated rules for recruiting and admitting patients to its facilities and agreed to pay certain state legal expenses and to provide some patient financial aid.