Latest California Healthline Stories
Hospitals To Receive Increase in Medicare Reimbursement Rates in October
CMS officials on Tuesday proposed a rate increase that would give hospital operators $5 billion more in Medicare payments starting Oct. 1, Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times reports.
Senate Republican Task Force Unveils Proposals To Help the Uninsured
A Republican Senate task force on Tuesday unveiled a package “consisting mostly of previously proposed tax incentives and insurance overhauls” that panel members say would expand health coverage to between 17 million and 23 million uninsured people and extend “safety net” health services to an additional five million uninsured, CongressDaily reports.
UCLA Study Examines Cost of Providing Health Insurance to State Residents
Providing health coverage for California’s 6.3 million uninsured residents would cost about $7.4 billion and could “stabliliz[e]” residents’ health spending, according to a University of California-Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research study, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
State Budget Cuts Threaten California’s Health Care Safety Net, Report Says
Funding reductions included in the state budget during the past three years have “eroded health and welfare services,” and proposed funding reductions included in the fiscal year 2004-2005 state budget “will put the system at risk,” according to a report released Tuesday by the California Budget Project, a not-for-profit group that studies the impact of state spending on low- and middle-income families, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports.
Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. John Kerry Discusses Health Care With Small Business Owners
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) on Tuesday met with a group of employers and workers at Kentucky-based Louisville Stoneware to discuss his proposals to reduce health care costs for small business owners and employees, the Washington Post reports.
The Media Fund, an independent advocacy group, is launching a “multimillion-dollar airwave assault” on President Bush over his stance against the reimportation of prescription drugs from other nations, the Boston Globe reports.
Sen. Tom Harkin Introduces School Lunch Regulation Bill To Address Childhood Obesity
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) on Tuesday introduced a bill that would grant the U.S. Department of Agriculture greater authority to regulate public school lunch programs and what schools choose to put in vending machines on campus, the Washington Times reports.
Molina Healthcare Reports 39% Increase in First-Quarter Profit
Long Beach-based health insurer Molina Healthcare on Tuesday reported a 39% increase in first-quarter profit that company officials credited to membership growth and higher premiums, the Los Angeles Times reports.
State Anti-Smoking Advertisements Violate Tobacco Companies’ Rights, Company Lawyer Says
An attorney for R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard Tobacco on Monday told a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that the state is violating the companies’ first amendment rights by using cigarette tax revenue to fund anti-smoking advertisements, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Uncompensated Care Costs for the Uninsured Will Reach $41 Billion in 2004, Study Finds
Uninsured U.S. residents will incur nearly $41 billion in uncompensated care in 2004 but will receive only about half as much care as those who have insurance, according to a new study from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, the Denver Post reports.