
MetroHealth ranks among nation's most socially responsible hospitals
MetroHealth is ranked as one of the nation's most socially responsible hospitals, per a new report from the nonprofit Lown Institute.
Why it matters: Though Cleveland Clinic remains the region's premier private health care system, Metro ranks far higher (No. 2 in Ohio) when measured by health equity, value, and patient outcomes.
By the numbers: Metro ranks 36th out of more than 2,700 hospital systems nationwide, earning "A" grades across the three main categories surveyed.
Only East Liverpool City Hospital ranks higher in Ohio.
Zoom in: It's No. 1 statewide in two categories: "community benefit" and "avoiding overuse."
The first metric measures a hospital's spending on financial assistance, Medicaid revenue and community programs.
The second measures its ability to avoid tests and procedures that offer little or no clinical benefit.
What they're saying: "No other hospital in America has a more dedicated and passionate staff of caregivers," said MetroHealth president and CEO Christine Alexander-Rager in a statement.
"This recognition is a direct result of their devotion to our community."
The other side: Cleveland Clinic, long pinged for its lack of community spending, ranks in the middle of the pack statewide and nationally across social responsibility metrics.
Yes, but: While the Clinic earns top marks for its value and outcomes, it still trails in equity rankings.

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The Intercept
22 minutes ago
- The Intercept
South Carolina Can Deny Medicaid Patients Planned Parenthood Care, SCOTUS Rules
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In South Carolina, abortion is already subjected to a near-total ban. State law prohibits abortion after six weeks with limited exceptions — which is often before someone would be aware that they're pregnant. Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has been direct about wanting to target Planned Parenthood because the network of clinics is known as an abortion provider. 'South Carolina has made it clear that we value the right to life,' McMaster said in a February statement. 'Therefore, taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize abortion providers who are in direct opposition to their beliefs.' The idea that Medicaid is subsidizing abortion care in South Carolina is incredibly misleading, said Susanna Birdsong, general counsel and vice president of compliance at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. 'Medicaid does not cover abortion except in very narrow circumstances of rape, incest in life of the pregnant person,' Birdsong said. 'That's been a federal rule since the 1970s.' 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Experts expect that this decision will open the floodgates for other states to pass similar bans, limiting access to the largest provider of reproductive and sexual health care in the United States for millions of lower-income Americans. 'Other states certainly have tried it before,' said Dr. Jamila Perritt, an OB-GYN and president of the nonprofit Physicians for Reproductive Health. 'Much in the same way that abortion bans really swept this country, I think we're going to see similar effects.' The decision to limit where Medicaid patients can access care disproportionately affects women of color, said Perritt. As of 2023, the majority of people enrolled in Medicaid in South Carolina were nonwhite, and roughly 39 percent of Medicaid enrollees were Black, according to health policy research nonprofit KFF. Even before the decision, access to health care — particularly reproductive and sexual health care — in South Carolina was a challenge for lower-income residents. Roughly 41 of the state's 46 counties are considered federally designated 'Health Professional Shortage Areas,' and Medicaid recipients are disproportionately likely to live in communities with provider shortages. 'We're talking about communities that are already marginalized from care, communities that already have disproportionately poor reproductive and sexual health outcomes,' said Perritt, who predicted the decision would have 'significant negative health consequences.' Aside from having one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, South Carolina is one of only 10 states not to expand Medicaid coverage since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. South Carolina also has the eighth-highest maternal mortality rate in the country, hovering around 47.2 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births, and some of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections in the nation. 'It's really a state that should be investing more in its public health infrastructure and making sure that people who live in the state have access to the care that they need,' said Birdsong. Jennifer Driver, senior director of reproductive rights for State Innovation Exchange, said, like the state's abortion ban, lower-income people in South Carolina will bear the brunt of the burden of this decision. 'It targets people who are already limited on resources to say, 'You know what? On top of that, you actually don't get to have a decision on the care that you get and the provider you get it from,' she said. Read Our Complete Coverage At the same time, the Trump administration and Congress are seeking to further restrict health coverage for low-income Americans. A Congressional Budget Office report found that the House of Representatives' version of the 'Big, Beautiful, Bill' would leave 16 million Americans without health insurance and kick 7.8 million people off of Medicaid. Senate Republicans are considering their own set of Medicaid cuts, though they've been snarled by political opposition. 'This is a clear and obvious attack on people with low income, people who rely on Planned Parenthood clinics to get life-saving health services,' said Perritt. She described the decision as part of the government's broader efforts 'to eliminate access to comprehensive health care for folks, really across the country. This has to also be understood as an attack that reaches far beyond the borders of South Carolina.'


Axios
22 minutes ago
- Axios
Supreme Court ruling on patients rights' could devastate Planned Parenthood
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38 minutes ago
States can cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, the Supreme Court rules
WASHINGTON -- A divided Supreme Court allowed states to cut off Medicaid money to Planned Parenthood in a ruling handed down Thursday amid a wider Republican-backed push to defund the country's biggest abortion provider. The case centers on funding for other health care services Planned Parenthood provides in South Carolina, but the ruling could have broader implications for Medicaid patients. The court split 6-3 in the opinion, with the three liberal justices dissenting. Public health care money generally can't be used to pay for abortions. Medicaid patients go to Planned Parenthood for things like contraception, cancer screenings and pregnancy testing, in part because it can be tough to find a doctor who takes the publicly funded insurance, the organization has said. South Carolina's Republican governor says no taxpayer money should go the organization. The budget bill backed by President Donald Trump in Congress would also cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. That could force the closure of about 200 centers, most of them in states where abortion is legal, the organization has said. Gov. Henry McMaster first moved to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood in 2018 but was blocked in court after a lawsuit from a patient named Julie Edwards. Edwards wanted to keep going there for birth control because her diabetes makes pregnancy potentially dangerous, so she sued over a provision in Medicaid law that allows patients to choose their own qualified provider. South Carolina, though, argued that patients shouldn't be able to file those lawsuits. The state pointed to lower courts that have been swayed by similar arguments and allowed states such as Texas to block Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood. Public health groups like the American Cancer Society, by contrast, said in court papers that lawsuits are the only real way that Medicaid patients have been able to enforce their right to choose their own doctor. Losing that right would reduce access to health care for people on the program, which is estimated to include one-quarter of everyone in the country. Rural areas could be especially affected, advocates said in court papers. In South Carolina, $90,000 in Medicaid funding goes to Planned Parenthood every year, a tiny fraction of the state's total Medicaid spending. The state banned abortion at about six weeks' gestation after the high court overturned it as a nationwide right in 2022.