Latest California Healthline Stories
Congress OKs Economic Stimulus Package; Obama To Sign Today
President Obama is scheduled to sign the economic stimulus package today in Denver after Congress approved it Friday. The package includes funds for Medicaid, health IT and subsidies for health insurance for recently unemployed people. Washington Post et al.
Budget Wrangling Continues in Sacramento, Tensions Mount
California legislators are scheduled to continue budget negotiations today, with Senate leader Darrell Steinberg pledging to hold the Senate in session until a final vote is secured to approve a proposed budget deal. Without a budget, Gov. Schwarzenegger plans to send layoff notices to 20,000 state workers today and the finance department plans to halt all public works projects. Los Angeles Times.
Diabetes Hits Central Valley Harder Than Other Regions
About one in 10 residents of California’s Central Valley region has diabetes, compared with one in 13 statewide. The eight-county region’s battle against diabetes is undermined by a shortage of physicians and high poverty rates. Fresno Bee.
Kaiser Permanente Hit With Lawsuits Over Physician Call Center
Kaiser is dealing with lawsuits alleging that its use of a physician-to-physician emergency call center led to delays in care and prompted the hospital not to reimburse other facilities for treating Kaiser members. Meanwhile, Kaiser reported steep losses for 2008. Sacramento Bee et al.
Ventura County Pilot for Uninsured Treats More People
Ventura County’s Access Coverage and Enrollment program has treated almost 10,000 people without health insurance since it launched 18 months ago, and the recession has been feeding more people into the program. The program is funded by federal grants. Ventura County Star.
High-Deductible Health Plans More Widespread in California
About 38% of private employers in California offered health plans with deductibles of $1,000 or more in 2008, up from 18% in 2007, according to an annual survey the California HealthCare Foundation released in December. The survey also found that premiums and copayments for office visits increased in 2008. Ventura County Star.
Court Dismisses Hospital Challenge to Medicare Policy
A federal judge in Sacramento ruled that Sutter Memorial Hospital must pursue an administrative appeal of Medicare’s decision to stop covering heart transplants performed at the hospital before the facility can take the matter to court. Sacramento Bee.
Counties Sue To Force California To Release Funds for Social Services
Sacramento and San Diego counties are leading a suit against California Controller John Chiang’s plan to withhold payments for mental health and other programs that counties run for the state. More than two dozen other counties are expected to join the suit. AP/San Francisco Chronicle et al.
State, Local Entities Fall Short on Funding for Retiree Health Benefits
A USA Today analysis found that state and local governments face $1 trillion in unfunded health care benefits for retirees. A change in federal accounting rules last year required state and local governments to begin estimating what they owe toward retiree benefits. USA Today.
California Sees Big Jump In Valley Fever Cases From 2000 to 2006
New statistics show that the number of valley fever cases in California more than tripled from 2000 to 2006. The San Joaquin Valley has been hit particularly hard. California still lags behind Arizona in the number of valley fever cases reported annually. Los Angeles Times‘ “Booster Shots.”