Latest California Healthline Stories
New Prison To Bring Medical Jobs to San Joaquin County
The construction of a new 1,722-bed prison is expected to bring more than 2,400 full-time health care jobs to San Joaquin County. The $906 million California Health Care Facility, which will centralize medical and mental health care for California inmates, is expected to open in about three years. Modesto Bee.
Calif. Groups Mull Effects of Medical Spending Regulations
A provision in the federal health reform law requires large group health plans to spend at least 85% of premium revenue on medical care starting Jan. 1. A 2008 report by the California Medical Association estimates that such a requirement could bring more than $1 billion into the state’s heath care system. Meanwhile, California health officials are raising questions about their authority to enforce the new regulations. Sacramento Business Journal.
Tentative Deal Reached To Delay Medicare Pay Reductions for One Year
Senate aides say top leaders have reached an agreement on a provisional one-year, $19 billion delay to Medicare physician pay cuts scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The Senate, which is expected to pass the bill, could vote on the measure as early as Wednesday. CQ Today et al.
Merced Officials Approve Plan To Join State HEAL Campaign
On Monday, the Merced City Council approved a resolution to participate in the statewide Healthy Eating Active Living Cities Campaign. The HEAL initiative aims to drive participating cities to implement policies related to employee wellness, food choices and land use. Merced Sun-Star.
Physicians Continuing To Accept Patients on Medicare, Study Finds
Despite physicians’ warnings that they will stop treating Medicare beneficiaries because of payment cuts, such patients are able to find physicians more easily than patients with private insurance, according to a new study. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch,” NPR’s “Shots.”
Competition Seeks Ways To Gauge Hospitalization Odds
The Heritage Provider Network, a collection of primary care and specialty practices that serves southern California, is launching a $3 million Health Prize competition to come up with ways to more accurately predict whether an individual is likely to be hospitalized. Participants will receive de-identified patient data from 100,000 patients in the network. Health Data Management.
Union Reaches Tentative Deal With HCA-Owned Hospitals in California
After canceling last week’s strike plans, members of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West reached a tentative agreement with the five California hospitals owned by Hospital Corporation of America. San Fernando Business Journal, Ventura County Star.
Reports Say Self-Referrals by Doctors Do Not Help Patients
A set of studies in the journal Health Affairs finds that supposed benefits of physician self-referral often do not materialize for patients and frequently lead to higher costs. For example, researchers found that the self-referral practice could limit same-day medical imaging scans and that patients rarely have quicker recoveries from illnesses. The studies were funded by the Blue Shield of California Foundation. Modern Healthcare, Health Affairs.
Schwarzenegger Declares Fiscal Emergency, Unveils Deficit Fix
Yesterday, Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency and released a plan to reduce California’s budget deficit by about $9.9 billion over the next 18 months. The proposal includes major cuts to Medi-Cal and Healthy Families. Sacramento Bee et al.
Report: Recession Led to Widespread Loss of Health Care Coverage
A new report finds that the number of uninsured Americans increased by 5.6 million between 2007 and 2009. The report attributes the trend to recent job losses and transitions from full-time to part-time work. Modern Healthcare, Health Affairs‘ “Health Affairs Blog.“