Latest California Healthline Stories
Calif. Providers Charged in Nationwide Medicare Fraud Crackdown
Federal prosecutors have charged more than 100 medical professionals across the U.S. with defrauding Medicare of $452 million. Eight of those individuals are located in the Los Angeles area and are accused of bilking Medicare of $20 million. Payers & Providers, Los Angeles Times.
SEIU Drops Ballot Initiatives as Part of New Agreement With CHA
The Service Employees International Union will stop pursuing two proposed ballot initiatives as part of an agreement with the California Hospital Association. In exchange, CHA will help facilitate the union’s organizing efforts. Los Angeles Times‘ “PolitiCal,” Payers & Providers.
Reforms Slow for OPS Investigations of Patient Abuse at State Facilities
Reforms to improve patient abuse investigations are being enacted slowly at the Office of Protective Services, which monitors California’s board-and-care institutions for patients with development disabilities. Efforts to retrain OPS staff might not start for months. California Watch.
New Data: Nursing Homes Frequently Use Antipsychotics
In 2010, one in five U.S. nursing homes provided residents with antipsychotics to treat symptoms for which the medications had not been approved by federal regulators, according to a recent Boston Globe investigation. While prescribing medications off label is legal, both FDA and CMS — which regulates nursing homes — have said it is inappropriate to prescribe antipsychotics for dementia patients. Boston Globe.
Not-for-Profit Hospitals Draw Scrutiny Over Charity Care
New rules implemented under the federal health reform law seek to clarify how not-for-profit hospitals must report charity care and provide health care services to low-income patients. However, the rules are not being actively enforced, allowing some not-for-profit hospitals to seek payment from patients who struggle to pay hospital bills. NPR’s “Shots.”
Community Dental Clinics Struggle To Provide Services
Since California lawmakers cut non-emergency dental services for low-income and disabled residents three years ago, community dental clinics have struggled to cover preventive services. In addition, the clinics have had difficulty finding specialists to perform more advanced dental procedures at a not-for-profit rate. HealthyCal.
California Child Psychiatric Hospitals Scarce, Scattered
Forty-five California counties do not have psychiatric hospitals for children and adolescents. As a result, families have to travel long distances to seek care as county-run crisis centers and hospital emergency departments are not equipped to handle many of the cases. For Fresno families, the nearest child psychiatric hospital is more than 100 miles away in Bakersfield. Fresno Bee.
GOP Report: Employers Would Save Money by Dropping Coverage
A report by House Republicans contends that the largest U.S. companies could save billions of dollars by dropping coverage and shifting workers into the federal health reform law’s insurance exchanges. Democrats called the report’s predictions “cynical.” The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” et al.
Health Law Reduced Medicare Beneficiaries’ Rx Spending
On Monday, CMS released new data showing that Medicare beneficiaries in the first quarter of 2012 spent an average of $837 less on prescription drugs because of the federal health reform law. According to the data, beneficiaries have spent $3.4 billion less on prescription drugs since the overhaul was enacted in March 2010. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch,” Washington Times.
Facebook Prompts Major Spike in Calif. Organ Donation Registration
The state organ donation database reported a more than 1,300% increase in registrations after Facebook launched an organ donation initiative on Tuesday. There are 21,989 state residents on waiting lists for new organs or tissues. San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle.