Latest California Healthline Stories
UnitedHealthcare Shows Off Mobile Health Unit in Calif.
In Riverside last week, the insurer UnitedHealthcare demonstrated a prototype mobile health unit that company officials say will use telemedicine technology to improve access to health care services. The insurer will test the units in six locations nationwide. Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Kaiser Permanente Sees Increase in Net Income, Decline in Membership
Kaiser Permanente reported $1.6 billion in net income during the first three quarters of 2009, up from about $202 million during the same period last year. The health insurer also reported a decline in membership, perhaps because of the recession. Sacramento Business Journal et al.
Safety Net Health Care Programs Begin To Feel Impact of Budget Cuts
More Californians are applying for Medi-Cal coverage at the same time that state budget cuts have eliminated funding for safety net health care programs and certain Medi-Cal services. About 400,000 new applicants are expected to enroll in Medi-Cal this year. Kaiser Health News.
Attention Shifts to Senate Reform Efforts After House Passes Bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is merging health care reform proposals approved by two Senate committees and is awaiting a score from the Congressional Budget Office on the combined legislation. Last week, Reid warned that debate might run into 2010. Politico et al.
Poll: 52% of California Voters Do Not Want H1N1 Vaccine
More than half of California voters do not want the H1N1 influenza vaccine and just 5% already have been inoculated, according to a Los Angeles Times/USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences poll. The poll found that 40% of respondents said they wanted the vaccine, and 12% of those respondents had tried but failed to find it. In addition, 70% said that they thought the vaccine was safe. Los Angeles Times.
Opinion: COHS System Best for Ventura County Medi-Cal
Ventura County is forming a County Organized Health Care System “to provide a more cost-effective, efficient and responsive Medi-Cal program for the 110,000 qualified residents” in the county, argues Kathy Long, a county supervisor and chair of the Ventura County Medical Center Oversight Committee. According to Long, the county’s health care staff have met with local providers that serve Medi-Cal beneficiaries and have decided that the COHS model “provides the greatest choice of providers for the beneficiaries and has the greatest opportunity to minimize administrative costs.” Ventura County Star.
Health Care Reform Legislation Clears House by Narrow Margin
Late Saturday evening, one Republican joined 219 Democrats in voting in favor of the House’s proposal to overhaul the U.S. health care system by expanding Medicaid, requiring individuals to buy coverage and imposing new rules on insurers. Passage came only after Democratic leaders agreed to permit a vote on an amendment dealing with abortion coverage. AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Schwarzenegger Submits Plan for Prison Mental Health Care
On Friday, Gov. Schwarzenegger’s administration submitted a five-year plan for about 2,600 mental health treatment beds as part of an effort to resolve lawsuits challenging the quality of mental health care for California prison inmates. To accommodate the new beds, the plan calls for converting a number of juvenile facilities. San Francisco Chronicle.
Obama Pushes Back Meeting With House Democrats
President Obama has pushed back his scheduled meeting with House Democrats about the chamber’s health reform bill (HR 3962) from today to tomorrow. A White House aide said the president wanted to hold the meeting “closer to the vote.” The Hill.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of November 6, 2009
Alameda County supervisors approved a contract worth more than $400 million for a replacement facility for Highland Hospital. Meanwhile, John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital filed a lawsuit seeking to block construction of a new specialty hospital in Indio.