Latest California Healthline Stories
Medical Contractor Settles Over Prison Health Contract
The California Department of Corrections will pay almost $2 million to NorthBay Healthcare to settle a dispute over services that the company provided at VacaValley Hospital for inmates of nearby state prisons. Negotiations began in December 2007. East Bay Business Times.
Nurses Union Likely To Get Boost From Proposed Ruling
The California Public Employee Relations Board earlier this month issued a proposed decision that maintains that unfair-labor-practices strikes by public employees are allowed under state law and that the University of California violated the law by refusing to bargain over the California Nurses Association’s staffing proposal. The proposed ruling becomes final May 8 unless it is appealed. Sacramento Business Journal.
Medi-Cal Payment Cuts Loom as Challenge to California Pharmacists
Some pharmacists could lose up to 25% of their business because of a 10% cut in Medi-Cal payments that the Legislature approved in February. The head of the California Pharmacists Association warned that the cuts could push pharmacies out of Medi-Cal or out of business. Stockton Record.
Cutting Adult Medi-Cal Benefits Will Hurt Clinics
Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposal to eliminate adult dental care as a Medi-Cal benefit “could financially cripple California’s community clinics and, more important, devastate thousands of patients who rely on clinic dental services,” Carmela Castellano-Garcia, president and CEO of the California Primary Care Association, writes in an opinion piece. She concludes that “the negative consequences of eliminating adult dental far outweigh any short-term financial benefits to the state.” Sacramento Bee.
Programs Could Let Non-Dentists Perform Dental Work
Some dentists and dental groups are clashing over whether non-dentists who complete dental training programs should be allowed to perform basic dental work. Some dentists who specialize in public health say these training programs can help provide adequate dental care to the 100 million U.S. residents who cannot afford it, but professional dental groups argue that only dentists should do dental work. New York Times.
Field Poll Finds Growing Concern About Health Care in California
A new Field Poll outlined Californians’ key concerns over the state’s health care system and found that more state residents are concerned about the cost and quality of health insurance today than in 2006, when a similar survey was taken. The survey also found that 72% of voters approved of a health care reform plan backed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. San Francisco Chronicle et al.
Health Care Reform News Around the Nation for the Week of April 28
The Maryland General Assembly approved $7 million in new funds to increase Medicaid payments to dentists as part of a larger dental care initiative for children in Medicaid. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Michigan weighed how to regulate the state’s individual insurance market.
Assembly Committee To Consider Employee Wellness Benefits Bill
The bill would require companies with more than 10 employees that bid on state contracts worth more than $1 million to offer employees wellness benefits. Assembly member Lloyd Levine says the bill would help address health care costs by promoting healthy lifestyles. Sacramento Bee.
Medical Board Ranking Reports Miss ‘Larger Picture’
In a letter to the editor, James Thompson, president and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards, writes that the methodology used by independent medical board ranking reports “can be less than scientific and even misleading.” He adds, “By limiting their reports to ‘serious’ actions, these ranking reports miss the much larger picture of how medical boards protect the public.” Los Angeles Times.
State Fines Modesto Hospital $100,000 in Patient Death
The California Department of Public Health has fined the English Oaks Convalescent & Rehabilitation Hospital $100,000 for failing to provide emergency care to a 91-year-old patient who died after choking on a peach. The hospital’s administrator said English Oaks is investigating the incident. AP/Sacramento Bee.