Latest California Healthline Stories
CalPERS Committee OKs Plans for Changes to Health Care Benefits
CalPERS moved one step closer to adopting new cost-saving measures, including plans to increase copayments, cut an HMO plan in rural counties and offer a smaller physician network. The move paves the way for trustees to approve the first copay increase in five years. Sacramento Bee.
UC-Irvine Stem Cell Cloning Program Draws Controversy
Only a small number of facilities in the world do research involving therapeutic cloning, a technique that some oppose because it requires the harvesting of human embryonic stem cells. Orange County Register.
Study: U.S. Health Care Costs More, Less Effective
Research from the Commonwealth Fund finds that at least five other countries have better health care outcomes than U.S. residents, despite significantly higher spending in the U.S. Bloomberg/Detroit Free Press.
Kaiser Settlement in Patient-Dumping Case Could Become Model
Los Angeles prosecutors are calling on other hospitals facing similar charges to look at the Kaiser agreement as a template for action. The settlement could resolve all civil and criminal charges Kaiser faces in the matter. Los Angeles Times.
House Weighs Options To Head Off Pharmacy Reimbursement Cut
Medicaid payments to pharmacies are set to be cut because of provisions of federal legislation approved in 2005, but members of the U.S. House of Representatives are considering new measures to nullify the changes to reimbursement formulas. CQ HealthBeat, CongressDaily.
Insurers Driving Acceptance of Medical Tourism
The potential for lower-cost surgical care has some health insurance companies jumping on the medical tourism bandwagon, but patients can lose some legal recourse if a procedure goes awry. NBC’s “Nightly News.”
Health Care Reform Debate Heats Up as Cost Estimates Come Out
Influential groups are backing health care overhaul plans by Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly after seeing projections that the measures would cover the cost of insuring more than two-thirds of California’s uninsured. A spokesperson for Gov. Schwarzenegger said that he harbors concerns about the proposals. San Jose Mercury News et al.
Medical Ethicist Says U.S. Needs Universal Health Care
An official at NIH recommends that the U.S gradually do away with Medicare, Medicaid and employer-sponsored coverage and institute a program to provide basic health insurance coverage to all residents. AP/Long Island Newsday.
San Mateo County Weighs Plan for Universal Coverage
A San Mateo County proposal to provide health care coverage to 2,100 adult residents represents the first phase of the county’s goal to extend coverage to all 36,000 to 44,000 uninsured county adults. San Francisco Examiner.
U.S. Senate Panel Examines Marketing of Medicare Plans
Investigators for a Senate committee say they have uncovered unethical or illegal practices by sales agents in at least 38 states. Medicare officials said beneficiaries who are the victims of fraud will be allowed to change plans. San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post.