Latest California Healthline Stories
Medicaid could save “billions” of dollars annually if more low-income parents are trained to handle minor childhood illnesses at home rather than seeking treatment at an emergency department or physician clinic, according to a study by the University of California-Los Angeles/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Institute, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Schwarzenegger Appoints New Director of Workers’ Compensation Division
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Monday appointed Andrea Hoch, a chief assistant attorney general, as the new administrative director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Coalition Proposes Fee To Improve Quality of Care at Nursing Homes
A coalition of for-profit nursing home companies and unionized nursing home workers on Wednesday held a rally at a Riverside nursing home to advocate imposing a 6% state fee on nursing home revenue to increase federal matching funds and raise Medi-Cal reimbursement rates to the facilities, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
HHS Will Not Release Medicare Chief Actuary Foster’s Cost Estimates for Law
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson will not release Medicare chief actuary Richard Foster’s estimates for the cost of the new Medicare law, according to an HHS letter sent to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) that the Associated Press obtained on Friday, the AP/Arizona Republic reports.
Children’s Specialists Requests Fee Waivers for Construction of Escondido Pediatric Center
Citing a funding shortage for the construction of a children’s medical center, Children’s Specialists on Monday requested that the city of Escondido waive development fees and fees for connecting to city water and sewer systems, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
In a recent interview, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) said that he plans to form a task force to consider benefits for retirees and current workers, including the “spiraling cost” of San Francisco’s retiree employee health benefits program, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Federal Court Upholds Cigna’s Settlement With Physicians
A federal appeals court upheld a $540 million settlement between Pennsylvania-based Cigna and about 700,000 doctors nationwide, ending the insurer’s part in a “massive racketeering lawsuit” against the managed-care industry, Reuters/Los Angeles Times reports.
EEOC Defends Retiree Health Benefits Decision Amid Criticism from AARP
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Friday defended its decision that employers can reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they become eligible for Medicare coverage at age 65, while AARP continued its criticism of the ruling, the Washington Post reports.
More Than 100,000 Los Angeles County Medi-Cal Beneficiaries Must Reapply for Enrollment in Program
About 122,000 of the 2.5 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries in Los Angeles County this month will receive letters from the Department of Health Services to inform them that they will have to reapply for enrollment in the program or risk losing coverage, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Group of Doctors, Investors Propose Construction of Surgical Hospital in Loma Linda
A group of physicians and investors has proposed building a surgical hospital in Loma Linda specializing in cardiovascular and orthopedic procedures, a move critics say is intended to “cherry-pick well-insured patients needing expensive procedures,” the Los Angeles Times reports.