Latest California Healthline Stories
Assembly Approves Bill To Limit Hospital Charges for the Uninsured
The Assembly on Monday voted to approve a bill (SB 379) that would limit hospital charges for the uninsured, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Berkeley Ballot Will Include Measures on Medical Marijuana, Funding for Emergency Services
The Nov. 2 Berkeley ballot will include two health-related measures that would ease medical marijuana laws and increase property taxes to fund the city’s emergency medical services, the Berkeley Voice reports.
Approximately 142,000 residents of the San Joaquin Valley would be among the one million Californians to gain health insurance under a new state law (SB 2) that will require some employers to provide health insurance to their employees or pay into a state fund to provide such coverage, according to researchers from the Central Valley Health Policy Institute, the Fresno Bee reports.
State Investigates Coverage of Care Denials by San Marcos Independent Practice Association
The Department of Managed Health Care has launched an investigation into coverage denials by San Marcos-based Primary Care Associates, a for-profit independent practice association that helps HMOs review patients’ requests for coverage of health services, the Los Angeles Times reports.
USA Today Examines Recent Scrutiny of Not-for-Profit Hospitals Over Charity Care
USA Today on Tuesday examined the “increasing pressure” on not-for-profit hospitals to defend their tax-exempt status, as the “long-standing” billing and collection practices for uninsured patients come under scrutiny.
Sen. Chuck Grassley Calls for End of Requirement To Return Unused Flexible Spending Account Funds
Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Monday sent a letter to Treasury Secretary John Snow calling on the department to change a rule that requires employees at the end of the year to return to their employers any unused funds in their flexible spending accounts, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Los Angeles County Might Face Additional Hospital Service Reductions, Emergency Department Closures
Los Angeles County, which has lost six emergency departments and the capacity to serve 75,000 patients in the last 14 months, is “on the brink of a far more serious problem,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
About 1,700 unionized employees of Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative on Monday began a five-day strike to protest a proposed increase in employees’ health insurance premiums, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Recent Research Finds Obesity Linked To Many Forms of Cancer
Obesity is linked to an increased risk of developing about a dozen cancers, including some common types such as colon and breast cancers, according to recent research, the Wall Street Journal reports.
A “rolling protest” train funded by a consumer group that supports legalizing the reimportation of lower-cost, U.S.-made prescription drugs from Canada and a national bulk-purchasing drug program on Monday left from Los Angeles on a trip to buy medications from a Vancouver pharmacy, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.