Latest California Healthline Stories
White House Endorses HHS Probe Into Medicare Cost Estimates
The Bush administration on Wednesday endorsed plans for an HHS investigation into claims made by Richard Foster, CMS’ chief actuary, that he was told by former CMS Administrator Tom Scully not to reveal to lawmakers his estimates for the Medicare legislation, the AP/Dallas Morning News reports.
Report To Estimate Earlier Trust Fund Insolvency for Medicare
The Medicare hospital trust fund faces an “extremely bleak” future and will become insolvent “earlier than previously forecast,” according to an annual report scheduled for release next week by Medicare trustees, The Hill reports.
Companies Sued for Alleged Purchase of Body Parts from UCLA Medical School
Attorneys at Los Angeles law firm Geragos & Geragos on Tuesday filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against companies that allegedly purchased body parts stolen from cadavers donated to the University of California-Los Angeles School of Medicine for medical research, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Rep. Oxley Presents Plan for National Insurance Regulation
At a meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in New York, House Committee on Financial Services Chair Michael Oxley (R-Ohio) this week presented plans for legislation to create a council of federal and state officials to regulate the insurance industry at the national level, the New York Times reports.
Los Angeles City Council member Antonio Villaraigosa on Wednesday said that he would propose a plan to establish a purchasing pool to negotiate discounts on prescription drugs for city residents, many of whom are uninsured, the Los Angeles Times reports.
2003 Rosenstein Memo Recommended Changes to Oversight of Medi-Cal Claims Processing Contract
In response to an audit criticizing California’s $230 million contract with Electronic Data Systems to process Medi-Cal claims, Deputy Director of Health Services Stan Rosenstein in December 2003 advised hiring more oversight personnel, the AP/Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Schwarzenegger Committee Donates $1 Million to Workers’ Compensation Ballot Initiative
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Friday donated more than $1 million from his chief political committee, the California Recovery Team, to the drive to put a workers’ compensation reform initiative on the November ballot, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Schwarzenegger Appoints Director of Department of Managed Health Care
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Tuesday appointed Lucinda Ann Ehnes as director of the Department of Managed Health Care, a four-year-old department that regulates HMOs in California, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Patient Screening Standards Affect Pleasant Hill Rehabilitation Center
Crestwood Healing Center, an unlocked mental health treatment facility that opened in October in Pleasant Hill, is “struggling to fill its beds,” with only 16 of its 80 beds in use, the Contra Costa Times reports.
CMS Report Cites Repeated Medication Errors at King/Drew Medical Center
Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center staff “repeatedly withheld medications from patients and administered the wrong drugs or dosages,” according to a CMS report released Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reports.