Latest California Healthline Stories
Tenet Healthcare Says Third-Quarter Earnings Beat Analysts’ Projections
Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare Corp., the nation’s second-largest hospital chain, announced yesterday that its fiscal third-quarter earnings “comfortably” beat analysts’ estimates, Bloomberg News/Orange County Register reports.
U.S. Health Care Spending Estimated to More Than Double to $2.8 Trillion Per Year by 2011, CMS Finds
National health care expenditures will more than double between now and 2011 to $2.8 trillion a year, accounting for 17% of gross domestic product, according to projections issued today by the CMS Office of the Actuary.
House Committee Rejects Bush Proposal to Charge Some Veterans a Deductible for Health Services
The House Veterans Affairs Committee yesterday rejected a proposal by the Bush administration to charge some veterans a $1,500 deductible for VA health care services, the Associated Press reports.
CMS Rejects California Proposal to Treat Partners of Medi-Cal Beneficiaries for Chlamydia Infection
CMS has rejected a California proposal to pay for antibiotics for the sexual partners of Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are infected with chlamydia, even if those partners are not themselves eligible for Medi-Cal, the Los Angeles Times reports.
PacifiCare To Establish a Tiered Copayment Structure for Use of Doctors, Medical Groups
Following the industry trend of offering tiered benefits for prescription drugs and hospital care, PacifiCare is planning to divide doctors and medical groups by a similarly structured copayment system, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Obesity Increases U.S. Health Care Spending More Than Smoking, Problem Drinking, Study Finds
Obese Americans spend more on medical care and prescription drugs than do smokers and problem drinkers, according to a new study published in the March/April issue of Health Affairs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Sacramento Bee Examines Bay Area Health Plans for Children
The Sacramento Bee yesterday profiled three Bay Area health care plans that provide health coverage to children whose families make too much money to be eligible for government-funded plans but too little to afford private insurance.
Molina Healthcare Offers Web Site in Six Languages
Molina Healthcare of California has made its Web site available in the six languages most commonly spoken by Medi-Cal beneficiaries in its service area, in an effort to provide its large minority membership with easier access to information about health care services.
Former Surgeon General Koop Says Americans Have ‘No Constitutional Right’ to Health Care
Americans have no constitutional right to health care,” former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop said in a speech at the Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake City last week.
Association to Stop Hearing Health Care Disputes Involving Mandatory Arbitration
In a move that will “put pressure on California doctors, hospitals and health plans to stop forcing patients into arbitration,” the nation’s largest provider of dispute resolution will tell California lawmakers tomorrow that patients “should have the right to forgo arbitration in health care disputes and file lawsuits directly in court,” the Los Angeles Times reports.