Latest California Healthline Stories
State Says Inspections of Care Facilities Last Year Were Lax
Officials “did a very poor job” last year of inspecting care facilities, performing fewer than half of the required inspections during the 2003-2004 fiscal year, Department of Social Services Chief Deputy Director Robert Sertich said Wednesday at an Assembly budget subcommittee hearing, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Department of Managed Health Care To Hold Hearing on Blue Cross of California Premium Increases
The Department of Managed Health Care on Wednesday announced that next month it will hold a public meeting to address consumer concerns that recent Blue Cross of California premium increases are being used to pay acquisition-related expenses for the merger of Blue Cross parent organization WellPoint Health Networks and Anthem, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Nearly one-fourth of Latino children in the state are uninsured, and the resulting lack of health care can lead to “missed school days and a downward spiral that can have enormous implications on the state’s economic prosperity,” researchers from the University of California-Los Angeles Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture said in a report Tuesday, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Alameda County Supervisors Earmark $5 Million for Community Clinics
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday allocated $5 million from Measure A for primary care clinics after some community leaders claimed the fund distribution neglected some population groups, the Oakland Tribune reports.
Senate Committee Rejects California Rx Plan
The Senate Health Committee on Wednesday rejected a bill (SB 19) that would have enacted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) California Rx plan, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an agreement under which the county will partner with the California State University-Channel Islands on its planned bachelor’s degree nursing program, the Ventura County Star reports.
Federal Budget Draft Plan Calls for $10 Billion in Medicaid Spending Reductions Over Five Years
Members of the conference committee reconciling the House and Senate versions of the fiscal year 2006 federal budget have agreed to a draft plan that calls for $40.5 billion in savings over five years “from a broad range of benefit programs,” including Medicaid, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Senate Committee Votes To Recommend Confirmation of Hoch
The Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday voted 3-2 to recommend the confirmation of Division of Workers’ Compensation Administrative Director Andrea Hoch, despite protests from workers’ compensation claimants and union leaders, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
IBM and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on Wednesday announced an eight-year, $402 million partnership to develop computer-based health care technology, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.
House Subcommittee Hears Testimony on Proposals To Limit Medicaid Asset Transfers
Members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health on Wednesday at a hearing listened to testimony on proposals to limit “Medicaid estate planning,” in which individuals transfer assets to qualify for the program, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.