Latest California Healthline Stories
House Republicans Offer Three-Phase Plan To Repeal SGR Formula
Yesterday, House Republicans released a three-phase plan that would permanently repeal the sustainable growth rate formula, which sets Medicare physician reimbursement rates. The GOP proposal is similar to a bipartisan bill introduced earlier this week. MedPage Today, The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”
Report: Many Residents Rely on Contaminated Drinking Water Sources
A report finds that more than 50% of Californians rely on drinking water sources that are contaminated. According to the report, most communities treat their water systems, but some rural counties cannot afford water treatment. AP/KPBS News, Capital Public Radio’s “KXJZ News.”
California Worker Layoffs Loom Amid Tricare Contract Loss
As many as eight Blue Shield of California employees and a total of 106 California-based TriWest Healthcare Alliance employees could be laid off this month, after Arizona-based TriWest lost a $20.5 million military health services contract in March 2012 to UnitedHealthcare. Blue Shield provides care to TriWest beneficiaries in the state. Sacramento Business Journal.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of February 8, 2013
Community Hospital of San Bernardino and St. Bernardine Medical Center employees picketed last week over staffing changes. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors has approved a $360 million bond issue that mostly will go toward a new Ventura County Medical Center wing.
Kaiser’s Efforts To Curb Childhood Obesity Working
Kaiser Permanente has seen promising results from its multi-million dollar effort to reduce obesity rates among school-age children in Northern California by encouraging increased physical activity, according to a recently published study in the American Journal of Evaluation. The study found that at least 20% of such children reached the initiatives’ targets in four of the nine programs that were examined. Payers & Providers.
Study: Hospice Use Up, but Aggressive Care Still Common
In the past decade, more seniors at the end of life were placed in hospice care, but many of them were moved from hospitals — where they received aggressive medical treatment — to such facilities too late to see any benefit, according to a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association. An accompanying editorial said high rates of hospitalization and aggressive treatment at the end of life show the need for better patient-physician communication. USA Today et al.
Senators Introduce Bill To Boost Community Mental Health Services
Yesterday, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill that would expand and improve the availability of community mental health services. The bill would set service standards for about 2,000 federally qualified community behavioral health centers. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” et al.
Legislation Package Would Boost Law Denying Guns to Mentally Ill
Senate Democrats have proposed a package of bills that would strengthen gun control laws in California. The package includes a measure that would boost enforcement of a law barring people with mental health conditions from owning guns. Ventura County Star et al.
Health IT Boosts Kids’ Obesity Treatment, Study Finds
Health IT tools have helped improve access to obesity screenings and treatment for children, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics. However, the researchers determined that findings from studies using health IT tools to deliver pediatric obesity screenings and treatment sometimes are inconsistent and that the topic requires more research. Clinical Innovation & Technology.
Consumer Watchdog Seeks Stronger Oversight of Rx Overprescribing
Consumer Watchdog has sent Gov. Brown a letter calling for legislation to boost monitoring of doctors who overprescribe medications. The letter comes in response to an investigation that found oversight of such physicians to be lacking. Los Angeles Times, Payers & Providers.