Latest California Healthline Stories
Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Doctors’ Class-Action Suit Against HMOs
The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to consider whether 600,000 doctors can jointly sue HMOs for violating federal racketeering laws or if they must settle their disputes through arbitration, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
AMA Says Scheduled Medicare Provider Reimbursement Cuts Would Harm Access to Care
The American Medical Association yesterday urged Congress to change the Medicare provider reimbursement formula to prevent a scheduled cut in physician payments, saying that unless the reduction is reversed, some doctors might stop treating beneficiaries, the Detroit News reports.
HHS Secretary Thompson Explains Decision To Back Fetus CHIP Coverage Rule
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on Tuesday stated in a letter to senators that a final regulation issued last month by the Bush administration that makes fetuses eligible for CHIP program coverage is “more comprehensive” than a Senate bill that would allow states the option of making pregnant women eligible for the program, CongressDaily/AM reports.
In the continuing contract dispute between HCA Healthcare and Blue Cross of California, the hospital group has launched an advertising campaign urging Blue Cross members to change health plans so they can continue to receive care at three HCA-owned San Jose-area hospitals, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
House Committee Wants To Rewrite Medicaid Buy-In Bill for Families with Disabled Children
The House Energy and Commerce Committee wants to rewrite a bill that would permit low-income families with severely disabled children to buy in to Medicaid, presenting a possible “snag” in lawmakers’ efforts to pass the legislation this session, CongressDaily reports.
Ventura County Not Prepared for Bioterrorist Attack, Plan Finds
Ventura County lacks the stockpile of vaccines and antibiotics and the ability to detect the spread of disease required to address a large-scale bioterrorist attack, according to the county Bioterrorism Preparedness Work Plan, the Ventura County Star reports.
Many HMOs Reimburse for Prescription Medications Purchased Abroad
While UnitedHealth Group’s recent announcement that it will cover drugs purchased abroad “made headlines,” many large HMOs “quietly already pay for such drugs,” Reuters/Boston Globe reports.
A measure on the Nov. 5 Los Angeles County ballot that would raise property taxes to fund the county’s trauma care centers and emergency rooms has failed to “attract interest from the financial and political circles that typically pay to promote such proposals,” Copley/Torrance Daily Breeze reports.
HHS Secretary Thompson Urges Fast Food Chains To Offer Healthier Choices
In an effort to reduce the number of overweight and obese people in the United States, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and Department of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman met with representatives of the fast-food industry yesterday and encouraged them to “aggressively advertise” more fruits and vegetables, consider reducing portion sizes and “generally offer more healthy food.”
California HealthCare Foundation Releases Report on Nursing Home Quality
More than 75% of nursing homes in the state do not meet federal quality standards, and 44% violate the state’s minimum nurse staffing level requirements, according to a report released yesterday by the California HealthCare Foundation, the Los Angeles Times reports.