Latest California Healthline Stories
Aetna Sues Bay Area Surgical Firm for Overbilling
Aetna has filed a $20 million lawsuit claiming that Northern California surgery firm Bay Area Surgical Management is overbilling the insurer by thousands of dollars for various surgical procedures. The firm has denied Aetna’s claims. AP/San Francisco Chronicle.
Opinion: Too Soon To Call Prison Realignment a Success
In response to an opinion piece by former Assembly member Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles) on the state’s prison realignment efforts, former California Assembly member Larry Bowler and former state Sen. Robert Presley write that “Goldberg is apparently ready to call the game and proclaim realignment a resounding success.” However, they write, “Jail administrators are early-on in the process” of addressing, among other issues, “a burgeoning backlog of mentally ill offenders languishing in county jails while awaiting placement in ever more crowded state treatment facilities.” Sacramento Bee.
California Health Care Personnel News Update for May 2012
Bruce Bodaken — chair, president and CEO of Blue Shield of California — plans to retire at the end of December. Simi Valley Hospital has named as its new CEO Kim Milstien, who began her career as a volunteer at the facility 16 years ago and more recently worked for Adventist Health.
Assembly OKs Measure Seeking Policies for Arming Hospital Police
The Assembly has unanimously approved a bill that would require the departments of Mental Health and Developmental Services to create policies for arming hospital police. The bill would require implementation of the policies by January 2014. Sacramento Bee‘s “The State Worker.”
State Fines 13 Hospitals $825K for Patient Safety, Care Violations
The California Department of Public Health has announced that it has fined 13 hospitals a total of $825,000 for patient safety and care violations in 2010. According to DPH, the hospitals have 10 days to appeal the fines. AP/Sacramento Bee et al.
Kaiser, Vendor in Dispute Over Patient Data Storage
Surefile Filing Systems in Indio alleges that Kaiser Permanente owes it $80,000 for cataloging and storing patient data. The vendor says it has more than one million unencrypted Kaiser patient records on servers. However, Diana Halper, a spokesperson for Kaiser’s Southern California region, said that Surefile is no longer in possession of clinical data and that the vendor is “falsely claiming continued possession of medical information as leverage to extract an unearned and unfair settlement from a routine business matter that was properly resolved long ago.” San Francisco Business Times.
Memo Offers Details on Reform Deal With Drugmakers
On Thursday, Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a memo and supporting documents providing new details about a 2009 deal reached between the Obama administration and the pharmaceutical industry on the federal health reform law. The documents show how the administration aggressively pursued support from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. GOP lawmakers have argued that the negotiations on the overhaul were not transparent and were driven by politics. Politico et al.
Groups Warn Prop. 29 Would Hurt Small Tobacco Retailers
The San Francisco-based Latin American and Caribbean Business Chamber of Commerce, the California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce and the California Black Chamber of Commerce oppose Proposition 29, a June ballot initiative that would increase California’s tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack to raise funds for cancer research and smoking cessation programs. The groups say the measure would hurt small businesses that sell tobacco products. New America Media.
House Republicans Aim To Repeal Reform Law’s Medical Device Tax
Republicans are advancing a bill that would repeal a medical device excise tax created to help fund the health reform law. Democrats say the GOP’s efforts are politically motivated and timed to align with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the overhaul. The Hill‘s “Floor Action Blog,” The Hill.
Rural California Children Lack Access to Specialized Care
In a two-part series, HealthyCal looks at the barriers rural California children with special health care needs face in accessing specialized care. About 80,000 children with special health care needs — such as autism, cancer or hearing impairments — live in rural California areas, where access to sub-specialists is limited. HealthyCal.