Latest California Healthline Stories
Democrats, White House Slam New Bipartisan Medicare Plan
Just hours after it was released on Thursday, leading Democratic lawmakers and White House officials criticized a bipartisan proposal by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan and Sen. Ron Wyden to overhaul Medicare by providing beneficiaries “premium support” to purchase traditional Medicare coverage or a private health plan. White House spokesperson Jay Carney said, “We are concerned that the Wyden-Ryan [plan] … would undermine rather than strengthen Medicare.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the proposal would cause Medicare to “wither on the vine,” quoting remarks made by GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich in 1995 about what would happen to Medicare if it faced competition from private health plans. AP/Boston Globe, The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”
State Nurses Collecting Unusually High Payouts From Working Overtime
Data analyzed by Bloomberg show that some California nurses working in state mental health hospitals and prisons are able to boost their salaries to unusually high totals by working overtime. State officials are seeking strategies to curb overtime work. Bloomberg.
Obama Proposes Plan To Extend Labor Protections to Home Care Workers
Yesterday, President Obama proposed new regulations that would extend minimum wage and overtime protections to the 1.8 million U.S. home health care workers. GOP lawmakers criticized the proposal, saying it would increase health care costs. AP/San Francisco Chronicle et al.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of December 16, 2011
CMS officials recently informed Ventura County Medical Center that it has passed an inspection and can continue to receive Medicare reimbursements. Meanwhile, Southwest Healthcare System is consolidating its obstetrics services at Rancho Springs Medical Center located in Murrieta.
CDC: Reform Law Helped 2.5M Young Adults Gain Coverage
On Wednesday, CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reported that the number of uninsured young adults nationwide has dropped by 2.5 million since the federal health reform law took effect in 2010. A provision in the overhaul allows dependents up to age 26 to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans. According to HHS policy analysts, about 10.5 million young adults ages 19 to 25 were uninsured when the provision took effect in the third quarter of 2010, but that figure dropped to about eight million by the second quarter of 2011. AP/San Francisco Chronicle.
San Joaquin County OKs Deal To Hike Workers’ Health Costs
Last week, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved a new labor deal with the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 that will require about 70% of the county government’s 5,500-member workforce to cover a larger share of their health and retirement benefit costs. The board also approved similar concessions for managers and other employees. In total, the labor agreements are expected to save the county nearly $10.5 million annually. Stockton Record.
Memo Points to Possible Mismanagement of CalOptima Health Plan
An internal document from a health care consultant suggests that CalOptima, Orange County’s Medi-Cal managed care plan, might be mismanaged. According to the document, CalOptima’s board and management have not given the organization a strategic direction. Payers & Providers.
Blue Shield Foundation Doles Out $9M in Q4 Grants
During the fourth quarter of 2011, the Blue Shield of California Foundation awarded $8.9 million in health care grants. In total, the foundation awarded $27 million in grants in 2011, $5 million more than last year. The Q4 grants include $4.5 million to help counties, community clinics and other safety-net providers improve their use of electronic health records and other health information technology; $2.3 million to boost access to care by funding infrastructure to help handle augmented Medi-Cal funding for low-income Californians; and more than $2 million to target domestic violence as part of the foundation’s Blue Shield Against Violence campaign. San Francisco Business Times.
Joint Commission Issues Alert on Dangers of Worker Fatigue
On Wednesday, the Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Event Alert describing how health care worker fatigue can affect patient safety. According to the alert, worker fatigue can lead to an inability to focus, reduced motivation, confusion, irritability, impaired communication, memory lapses, diminished reaction time and the loss of empathy. The hospital accreditation group also outlined nine strategies to reduce the occurrence and effects of worker fatigue. Modern Healthcare.
Ryan, Wyden Introduce Bipartisan Proposal for Medicare Subsidies
Today, Republican House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden released a new Medicare reform plan. Under the proposal, Medicare beneficiaries would receive a subsidy to buy traditional Medicare coverage or a private health plan. New York Times et al.