Latest California Healthline Stories
Former Senate Leader Touts Plan for Health Care Reform
In an appearance on a public radio show, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a co-chair of Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, discussed his new book on the U.S. health care system. Later on the program, an NIH bioethics expert and a Stanford University health policy professor weighed the effects of rising health care costs. KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.”
Study: California Nursing Homes Use Restraints Most Frequently
New research from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that 13.4% of California nursing home patients were restrained in 2006, more than double the national average. Overall, the use of restraints declined in the U.S. by almost 40% between 2002 and 2006 as states and nursing homes have worked to eliminate the practice. AP/Philadelphia Inquirer.
Group Avoids Mid-Year Workers’ Comp Rate Change
On Wednesday, the governing committee of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau decided not to propose a mid-year change in pure premium rates for workers’ compensation insurers in California. Sacramento Business Journal.
California HMO Overseers To Go Before Senate Health Committee
The Department of Managed Health Care has drawn criticism from consumer advocates for not going far enough to protect consumers from improper HMO practices, sparking a hearing on the agency’s handling of insurance coverage cancellations and other issues. San Francisco Chronicle.
Health Advocates Target Low-Income Immigrants
A growing number of community health advocates are targeting low-income, immigrant communities in California. The volunteer health workers teach classes on safer sex, managing diabetes and preventing domestic violence, as well as offer advice on finding affordable care. San Francisco Chronicle.
California Regulators Call Meeting With Insurers To Discuss Cancellations
Officials from the Department of Managed Health Care plan to discuss standards for canceling individual health insurance policies at a closed meeting with insurers today. Health plans’ cancellation practices have drawn wide criticism in recent months. Los Angeles Times.
San Francisco Mayor Discusses Possible Suit To Block Medi-Cal Cuts
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom described cuts to Medi-Cal payments to doctors as “unconscionable” and said that legal action might be the only option to stop the reductions. The cuts are slated to take effect July 1. San Francisco Chronicle, AP/Riverside Press-Enterprise.
U.S. Residents Dissatisfied With Health Care System
A new AFL-CIO survey found that residents are unhappy with the U.S. health care system, regardless of whether they have health insurance. Ninety-five percent of the more than 26,400 respondents said the U.S. health care system needs to be completely overhauled or fundamentally changed. San Francisco Chronicle.
Sonoma County Mental Health Patients Reassigned
In response to state funding cuts, Sonoma County is moving hundreds of mental health outpatients to private, community-based treatment centers. County officials say the move will save up to $900,000 this budget year and will not affect the quality of care. However, a mental health advocate said it is too soon to determine how well the new arrangement will work. Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
CalPERS Annual ‘Focus List’ Includes Medical Company
CalPERS has included Invacare, a medical equipment company, on its annual “Focus List” for what the retirement fund described as poor financial performance and corporate governance. Los Angeles Times.