Latest California Healthline Stories
Hospital News Roundup for Nov. 2, 2007
Prime Healthcare Holdings purchases Centinela Hospital Medical Center and reaches tentative deal to sell Anaheim Medical Center; Department of Public Health launches investigation into the death of an emergency department patient at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
California Regulators Rein In Blue Cross Confidentiality Rules
State officials ordered Blue Cross of California to stop requiring providers to sign confidentiality agreements during contract talks after some hospitals threatened to drop their contracts with the insurer rather than negotiate new agreements without outside advice. Los Angeles Times.
Bush Proposals on Medicaid Matching Funds Scrutinized
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Henry Waxman said proposed HHS rules would limit coverage of state Medicaid funding. The Bush administration says the rules are needed to keep the states from overbilling the federal government. CQ HealthBeat, CongressDaily.
California Among Worst for Rate of Job-Based Health Care Coverage
A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that about 55% of California workers had employer-sponsored health insurance in 2006, compared with about 63% of workers nationwide. The rate of coverage has declined by half a million workers since 2000. San Francisco Chronicle.
Conference Committee OKs Health-Related Budget Plan
The agreement includes $151 billion in discretionary spending for the fiscal year 2008 Labor-HHS-Education bill and $65 billion in discretionary spending for the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill. Democrats removed a Defense spending bill in an effort to gain more Republican support. Wall Street Journal et al.