Latest California Healthline Stories
Plan for Adolescent Psychiatric Unit in the Works for Central Valley
Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties are collaborating to create a nine-bed adolescent psychiatric unit in Fresno. The unit would aim to help families who currently have to travel long distances to find mental health services for teenage patients. Fresno Bee.
States Seek Wider Authority Over Private Medicare Plans
A draft report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners proposes establishing common standards for states to oversee private Medicare plans, citing a larger number of complaints about insurers’ marketing practices for the plans. More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in private plans. New York Times.
Bonds Will Fund Health Care Expansion in Tulare County
United Health Group purchased $7.9 million in bonds from not-for-profit Family HealthCare Network as part of its California Health Care Investment program. Family HealthCare will use proceeds from the sale to expand services in Porterville and Cutler-Orosi. Porterville Recorder.
UCSF Data Breach Prompts Discussion About Security
Arthur Caplan, a medical ethicist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; William Braithwaite, a former health information policy consultant; and Joanne McNabb, chief of the California Office of Privacy Protection, weighed in on a data breach involving information on more than 6,000 patients at UC-San Francisco Medical Center. KQED’s “Forum.”
UCSF Data Breach Raises Concerns About Hospital Use of Patient Data
Medical and other personal information for more than 6,000 UC-San Francisco Medical Center patients was posted online for more than three months because of a vendor’s privacy lapse. The firm mined patient data in part to identify potential donors. San Francisco Chronicle.
Health Care Providers Expect Budget Debate To Delay Medi-Cal Payments
Health care and social services providers in Humboldt County are concerned about an extended debate over the state budget translating into major delays in payments from Medi-Cal and other state programs. Safety net providers could be particularly hard hit. Eureka Reporter.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of May 2, 2008
Kaiser Permanente hospital security officers gave notice of a ten-day strike that could begin next week. Meanwhile, Loma Linda University Medical Center purchased the California Heart and Surgical Hospital for more than $80 million.
State To Target Fraudulent Discount Health Plans
The California Department of Managed Health Care has seen an increase in the number of complaints regarding discount health plans in the last month and is working “diligently to shut down fraudulent” plans, according to DMHC Director Cindy Ehnes. She added, “We will soon be proposing new regulations to license companies, imposing strict consumer protections for those wishing to operate in California.” Capitol Weekly.
Legislature Should Expand Mental Health Coverage
Legislation (AB 1887) by Assembly member Jim Beall (D-San Jose) that would require health plans to provide patients with mental disorders and substance abuse problems with the same level of coverage provided for physical illnesses is “one health care bill that should easily pass the Legislature this year,” according to an editorial. San Jose Mercury News.