Daily Rounds: Ambulance Bill Dispute; Breast Cancer Categorized; Partners Hospital Bid; Montana Medical Pot

AMR claims Blue Cross members owe $3M (The Boston Herald) - "Fresh off a second losing legislative bid, American Medical Response is sounding its siren about Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. The nation’s largest private ambulance service said the health plan’s practice of reimbursing patients instead of the company for emergency ambulance runs has left it out of millions of dollars and forced layoffs. AMR claims that Blue Cross members have failed to pay it $3 million for ambulance transportation since Blue Cross stopped making direct payments to the company in 2010."

Study divides breast cancer into four distinct types (The New York Times) - "In findings that are fundamentally reshaping the scientific understanding of breast cancer, researchers have identified four genetically distinct types of the cancer. And within those types, they found hallmark genetic changes that are driving many cancers. These discoveries, published online on Sunday in the journal Nature, are expected to lead to new treatments with drugs already approved for cancers in other parts of the body and new ideas for more precise treatments aimed at genetic aberrations that now have no known treatment."Partners South Shore Hospital bid draws scrutiny (The Boston Globe) - "Federal investigators have joined Massachusetts officials in closely scrutinizing a bid by Partners HealthCare System to acquire South Shore Hospital, one of a growing number of inquiries by regulators concerned that rapid consolidation among US hospitals could drive up health costs. Investigators from the US Department of Justice and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office recently spoke with top-level staff from at least three hospital systems that compete with Partners and one health plan, said several people in the health care industry with knowledge of the inquiry."
Patients have no constitutional rights to medical marijuana, state court rules (amednews.com) "State restrictions on medical marijuana access and sales do not violate patients’ rights to pursue health care under the state constitution, the Montana Supreme Court has ruled. The decision overturns a lower court opinion that had blocked new regulations on the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law. The restrictions limit medical marijuana dispensers to three patients each and prevent them from making a profit."