Latest California Healthline Stories
An electronic medical records system has helped physicians and residents at the Los Angeles-based White Memorial Medical Center improve workflow and patient care, Managed Care Weekly Digest reports.
CMS Administrator Scully Defends Job Hunt During Medicare Bill Negotiations
In a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, CMS Administrator Tom Scully defended his job search activities while working on negotiations for the final Medicare bill (HR 1), CongressDaily reports.
Leaders in Legislature Meet With Schwarzenegger To Discuss Budget Proposals, Reach No Agreement
Republican and Democratic leaders in the Legislature on Thursday met with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to discuss his budget proposals but “emerged with no public signs of a deal,” the Contra Costa Times reports.
Medicare Reimbursement System Hinders Quality Improvements, Some Providers Contend
The New York Times on Friday examined how Medicare’s reimbursement system can hamper some hospitals’ attempts to improve quality of care because it pays providers a fixed amount based on specific diagnoses or procedures, “regardless of the quality of care.”
Los Angeles Times Profiles Program To Educate Teenagers in Santa Monica About Sexual Heath Issues
The Los Angeles Times on Thursday profiled the Teen Outreach Project, sponsored by the Santa Monica-based Westside Family Health Center, that educates teenagers about sexual health issues through peer education, school presentations and a teen health clinic.
Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) last week said that Universal Health Services would be required to keep French Hospital Medical Center and Arroyo Grande Community Hospital open for at least five years after their purchase as a condition of the $120 million sale, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.
State Budgets Improve, But Medicaid Program Costs Still Increasing
After three years of “fiscal crisis,” the improving national economy is beginning to “lift states’ fortunes,” but “[r]apidly rising health care costs” from programs including Medicaid are still “squeez[ing] other priorities,” according to a report released Thursday by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
California Healthline Features Editorials, Opinion Pieces on Medicare Legislation
Several recently published editorials and opinion pieces address the Medicare bill (HR 1) passed in Congress and expected to be signed by President Bush as early as Monday.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to discontinue on Dec. 31 the provision of mental health services for probationers and jail inmates at their current level under the San Diego Connections Program and instead provide “scaled-down” services because of budgetary issues, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Higher Prescription Drug Copayments May Limit Use, Study Finds
Employees whose prescription drug copayments are increased under a tiered system in employer-sponsored health insurance plans may stop filling their prescriptions, according to a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Boston Herald reports.