Morning Breakouts

Latest California Healthline Stories

Governors’ Negotiations on Medicaid Reform Proposal Fail

The Medicaid reform plan proposed by a bipartisan 10-governor National Governors Association taskforce has failed because of “aggressive lobbying” by Democratic senators who oppose the changes, according to governors on the taskforce, the Washington Post reports.

List Prices at Tenet-Owned Hospitals Among Nation’s Highest, California Nurses Association Report Says

Hospitals owned by Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare have higher list prices for health care services than other U.S. hospitals, a study commissioned by the California Nurses Association released Wednesday found, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.

Guidant Subsidiary Pleads Guilty to 10 Felony Counts

Guidant subsidiary Endovascular Technologies, based in California, yesterday pleaded guilty to 10 federal felony counts for lying to the government and covering up 2,628 cases in which the delivery system on its stent-graft malfunctioned or was linked to deaths or serious injuries, the Wall Street Journal reports.

State-Run Health Care Would Not Work, Assembly Member Writes in Opinion Piece

“There is no question” that California’s health care system “is a mess,” but recent attempts by the state and its “sorry record of handling programs and crises” should be “laughed out of the Capitol,” Assembly member Ray Haynes (R-Murrieta) writes in an Orange County Register opinion piece.

Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards Proposes National Medical Translation System

Presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C) yesterday proposed a national medical translation system that would include a 24-hour translation hotline for small and rural hospitals, as well as on-call translators for large hospitals in the nation’s 100 most populous counties, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Mexican Consulate in San Diego Opens Health Office To Offer Information, Referrals

The Mexican consulate in San Diego today will open a health office to provide information about preventive care, patients’ rights in the United States and common illnesses to low-income Latino immigrants, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.