Latest California Healthline Stories
Latest Schwarzenegger Budget Plan Calls for Cuts to Health Care
Aides to Gov. Schwarzenegger rolled out a proposal aimed at closing the state’s more than $40 billion budget deficit over the next 18 months. The plan would cut Medi-Cal and calls for shifting funds from special accounts for mental health services and early childhood health care and education programs to other state efforts. Sacramento Bee et al.
Emergency Response in S.F. Sees Improvements, Criticism
Emergency medical experts are voicing concerns that 911 ambulance personnel in San Francisco are not trained adequately and do not maintain patient charts that indicate what specific medical treatment they have provided. Meanwhile, emergency response times in the city have improved after San Francisco’s 911 Call Center adopted new protocols. San Francisco Chronicle.
Criminal Background Checks Incomplete for Many Medical Personnel
Fingerprint scans were not used in criminal background checks for close to one-third of California’s licensed health care workers, according to recent state estimates. Regulators are working to expedite new fingerprinting regulations. Los Angeles Times.
Health Care Reform Update for the Week of Jan. 5, 2009
Enrollment has jumped in a Massachusetts program aimed at helping unemployed people maintain health insurance coverage. Meanwhile, Rhode Island lawmakers are gearing up to debate an agreement with CMS to rework the state’s Medicaid program.
Long Beach Agency Wins Federal HIV/AIDS Grants
HHS has awarded a $2.2 million grant to the Substance Abuse Foundation of Long Beach to expand HIV/AIDS services to blacks and Hispanics. The grant will run for five years. Long Beach Press-Telegram.
California Kicks Off New Rules for Interpreters in Health Care
On Jan. 1, the state Department of Managed Health Care implemented new regulations that require health and dental plans to provide translators to members who have limited English language skills. The rules have been in the works for five years. Sacramento Bee.
SEIU Might Consolidate Long-Term-Care Workers
On Thursday, Service Employees International Union’s executive board will consider a proposal to move all California long-term-care workers into a single local. Proponents of the proposal argue that unions must organize on a scale that lets them compete with employers. However, opponents of the move argue that it will weaken workers’ power. San Francisco Chronicle.
Democrats: Six More Weeks Needed To Craft Economic Stimulus
Democratic leaders in Congress now say an economic stimulus package that is expected to include provisions for Medicaid funding and health information technology will not be ready until mid-February. Democrats had hoped to have Congress approve the bill by the inauguration. Washington Post et al.
New Laws Governing Health Care Issues Take Effect in California
On Jan. 1, various health care-related laws took effect in California. For example, new laws aim to establish a new state privacy office and require physicians to provide terminally ill patients with information about end-of-life care options. Los Angeles Times et al.
Nurse Leader Criticizes Reliance on Charity Care
In an opinion piece, Rose Anne DeMoro — executive director of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee and a vice president of AFL-CIO — criticizes the U.S.’s “reliance on charity rather than a public safety net.” She calls for “a streamlined, more effective system than our current nightmare, based on care not insurance, by expanding and extending Medicare to cover everyone.” Contra Costa Times.