Latest California Healthline Stories
Presidential Election Offers Voters ‘Stark Choice’ on Health Care
The outcome of the presidential election could have a major effect on the U.S. health care system and the Affordable Care Act. President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney differ significantly in their strategies for national health care policy. New York Times.
S.F. Hospital Targets Hospital-Associated Disability Among Seniors
San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center has been working to address the onset of hospital-associated disability in older adults. The Acute Care for Elders model has reduced the number of patients with disabilities at discharge. San Francisco Chronicle.
Editorial Calls State-Run Plan for Private Retirees a ‘Bad Idea’
A USA Today editorial criticizes a new California law that creates a state-managed retirement fund on behalf of private-sector workers. It argues, “Though encouraging people to save for the elder years is a noble cause, getting states into the business of running another kind of retirement fund, when they have done such a poor job with their existing ones, is a bad idea.” USA Today.
600 California Patients Received Shots Linked to Meningitis Outbreak
State health officials say that 600 California patients have been treated with steroid shots of recalled medications linked to a national outbreak of meningitis. The officials say the state is notifying patients and communicating with facilities that provided the shots. AP/San Francisco Chronicle et al.
Report: CMS Not Issuing New Medicare ID Cards to Identity Theft Victims
An HHS Office of Inspector General report finds that the federal government has not issued new ID cards to nearly 284,000 Medicare beneficiaries who have experienced identity theft. CMS says replacing the cards would be logistically challenging. USA Today.
New GAO Report Shows Costs, Outcomes of Anti-Fraud Efforts
A Government Accountability Office report outlines federal and state government efforts against health care fraud. It finds that state Medicaid anti-fraud efforts in 2010 resulted in nearly $829 million in judgments and settlements. Modern Healthcare.
More Small, Rural Hospitals See Benefits in Telehealth
Small and remote hospitals increasingly are adopting telehealth technology to improve patient care and reduce costs. However, some regulations require that physicians be licensed in the state where patients are treated, limiting the use of telehealth to in-state treatment. In addition, insurance coverage for telehealth varies, with some insurers only covering telehealth in rural areas. New York Times.
Some Say Social Security Policy Shift Hinders Research
Some medical researchers have expressed concern that a recent shift in Social Security Administration policy to restrict public disclosure of its death records is beginning to negatively affect a range of research efforts. Last year, the agency concluded that it had violated a 1983 law by releasing state death records and removed four million death records from a public file. New York Times.
Opinion: Basic Health Plan Supporters’ Claims Inaccurate
In a Capitol Weekly opinion piece, Micah Weinberg — senior policy adviser to the Bay Area Council and senior research fellow at the Bay Area Council Economic Institute — writes that claims stating that a Basic Health Plan would be more affordable for Californians are “incorrect.” He adds that the “proposal would take away subsidies for the purchase of private health insurance from an estimated 800,000 lower-income Californians.” Weinberg concludes, “We need to spend the special session bolstering health care reform, not pulling it apart.”Capitol Weekly.
Kaiser Permanente Joins Effort To Offer Patients Healthier Hospital Food
Kaiser Permanente is joining an initiative to offer healthier foods in hospitals and reduce junk food on hospital campuses. The Partnership for a Healthier America initiative includes 17 other U.S. hospital systems, representing more than 150 hospitals. Los Angeles Times’ “Booster Shots” et al.