Latest California Healthline Stories
Effort To Draft Reform Legislation Hinges on Industry Cost Proposals
President Obama has given health care industry groups until next week to develop specific proposals to reduce expected increases in health care spending over the next 10 years. The groups’ progress on the effort could have important implications for efforts to draft reform legislation. AP/Contra Costa Times.
Physician Targets Health Insurers’ Treatment Scrutiny
Bradley Carpentier, a physician in Monterey, has created a new political action committee, called Stop Practicing Medicine, to target the insurance industry’s practice of hiring doctors to review physician decisions. Insurers defend the practice but Carpentier said the insurers are denying and delaying care. San Francisco Chronicle.
Kaiser Offers Members Health Records on Flash Drives
Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California now can access most of their health records on pocket flash drives. The flash drives cost $5, and updates can be uploaded at no cost, according to Kaiser. According to officials, “a couple thousand” members are using the devices. Sacramento Bee.
Officials Launch Hospital Price Comparison Tool for California Facilities
A state agency has unveiled a Web site that will let consumers compare hospital “sticker prices” for 28 common inpatient procedures at hospitals throughout California. The database also indicates average length of stay and how many procedures a hospital performs. San Francisco Chronicle et al.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of May 22, 2009
The Marin County Civil Grand Jury recommended selling Marin General Hospital instead of having the health care district assume control of the facility. Meanwhile, Sutter Health announced plans to eliminate 121 information technology positions.
Newsom Stumps for New Cigarette Tax in San Francisco
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) plans to propose a new tax on cigarette purchases to offset the cost of cleaning up cigarette butts. Newsom also touted the health benefit of the potential tax, saying, “In general, fees help reduce the consumption and use of tobacco, and we think that will have a very beneficial public health component.” Cigarette manufacturers oppose the proposal. PublicCEO.
New Veterans’ Web Site Contains Resources on Mental Health, Jobs
California county mental health agencies have sponsored a new Web site that lets veterans locate mental health programs, create personal health records, search a jobs database and access additional resources. California is the second state to offer such a program. Contra Costa Times.
Schwarzenegger Team Mulls Elimination of Healthy Families
Gov. Schwarzenegger’s finance department has put Healthy Families on a list of programs to consider eliminating to help come up with $5.5 billion in additional cuts after the governor decided not to pursue short-term loans to help balance the state budget deficit. Sacramento Bee et al.
Advocates Defend Single-Payer Health Care System
PBS’ “Bill Moyers Journal” looks at the prospects of a single-payer health care system. The segment includes comments from David Himmelstein — associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and founder of Physicians for a National Health Program — and Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group and an adjunct professor of internal medicine at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. PBS’ “Bill Moyers Journal.”
Aging Population Brings New Challenges to California
In its May edition of Health Dialogues, KQED’s “California Report” examined the challenges California will face as its population ages. The edition includes segments on nursing home alternatives, new technologies to help seniors manage chronic conditions and the state’s shortage of health care providers for seniors. KQED’s “California Report.”