Latest California Healthline Stories
Insurance Cancellation Issue Must Be Handled With Care
The “Legislature needs to tread with care as it wades into this complicated legal and economic minefield” of health insurance cancellations,” Daniel Weintraub writes in an opinion piece. He concludes, “The Legislature needs to fix this problem, but it needs to do so in a way that doesn’t make insurance even more expensive and even more difficult to get.” Sacramento Bee.
Scripps Health Buying Rival Medical Group in North San Diego County
Sharp HealthCare is selling about 60,000 patient records, furniture, computers and other physical assets of Sharp Mission Park Medical Group to Scripps Health. About 10 Sharp doctors will relocate to offices in Carlsbad, but the rest will remain in Mission Park. San Diego Union-Tribune.
More Supermarkets Could Help Curb Diabetes, Obesity
An author of a study that tied the number of fast-food restaurants in a neighborhood and its residents’ chances of having diabetes or being obese said that cities should encourage development of grocery stores and eateries with healthy food options. American Public Media’s “Marketplace Morning Report.”
55% of Insured Unaware of Health Plan Coverage Details
Fifty-five percent of insured U.S. residents are not fully aware of the “critical details” of their insurance coverage, including prescription drug benefits, doctor selection and appeal-coverage denials, according to a survey released Wednesday by J.D. Power & Associates. Bloomberg News/Arizona Daily Star.
Bay Area Doctor Group Reports Increase in 2007 Earnings, Revenue
Brown & Toland Medical Group announced a 6% increase in revenue from 2006 to 2007 and a bigger jump in operating income. Physician bonuses from pay for performance also increased in 2006, and group leaders say bonuses likely will be even higher in 2008. San Francisco Business Times.
Congress Must Take Action on Medicaid, Kids’ Health
“The troubled economy could soon create a major fiscal crisis for the state-run Medicaid and children’s health programs that would only be exacerbated by the Bush administration’s efforts to cut these programs back,” according to an editorial. It calls on Congress to “place a moratorium on the Medicaid regulations” and overturn the children’s health rules, as well as restructure the programs “so that federal financing increases during bad economic times.” New York Times.
Government, Insurers Scrutinize Use of Health Savings Accounts
A report by the Government Accountability Office found that most people with health savings accounts in 2005 had annual incomes above $100,000, while a health insurer trade group separately reported that enrollment in such plans has jumped by 35% since 2007. The GAO report prompted questions from two House leaders from California about the usefulness of HSAs. CQ HealthBeat et al.
Senate Panel Confirms First Head of California Public Health Agency
Gov. Schwarzenegger nominated Mark Horton to lead the agency nine months ago. Horton led California’s public health programs in the Department of Health Services before those initiatives were broken off into their own agency last year. Sacramento Bee.
UCSF Gets $2M for Breast Cancer Research, Web Site
The Safeway Foundation has donated $2 million to UC-San Francisco to support breast cancer research initiatives and the development of a Web site that will match breast cancer patients with clinical trials nationwide. San Francisco Business Times.
Case on Veterans’ Mental Health Care Closes in San Francisco Federal Court
The lawsuit centers on whether the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides adequate mental health care in a timely manner to veterans. A ruling in the case is expected in June. New York Times, AP/San Francisco Chronicle.