Latest California Healthline Stories
‘NewsHour’ Profiles ‘Eden Alternative’ to Nursing Homes
The nursing home industry is in a “state of near crisis” in the United States, but PBS’ “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” reports that “Eden Alternative” nursing homes, which provide improved living conditions for residents, may help address the problem.
Medicare HMO Enrollment Increased 5.1% from 1996 to 1999
The number of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in MediGap policies decreased from 9.9 million in 1996 to 8.4 million in 1999, while enrollment in Medicare+Choice increased from 4.1 million in 1996 to six million in 1999, which contributed to an overall increase in the number of beneficiaries with prescription drug coverage, a new study published yesterday in a Health Affairs Web exclusive found.
Will Texas Lawsuit Halt PacifiCare Turnaround?
A lawsuit filed this month against PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. by Texas Attorney General John Cornyn (R) over the company’s alleged failure to pay provider claims could “hamper” the health plan’s turnaround efforts, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Senate Democrats Continue to Criticize Bush’s Medicare Reform, Rx Drug Benefit as ‘Inadequate’
Senate Democrats yesterday continued to criticize President Bush’s 10-year, $190 billion Medicare reform and prescription drug benefit package as inadequate, CongressDaily/AM reports.
Feinstein Proposes Five-Year, $14 Billion Bill to Increase Cancer Research, Improve Treatment
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) yesterday proposed a five-year, $14 billion bill to “wipe cancer off the face of the Earth,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Bush Administration’s Abstinence-Only Eduation Initiative ‘Catching On,’ New York Times Reports
The Bush administration’s “controversial” abstinence-only education initiative is “catching on, if only because there is more federal money available for it,” the New York Times reports in a profile of the debate surrounding federal funding of sex education.
University of Minnesota Changes Data Storage Policy After Mistakenly Releasing Organ Donors’ Names
The University of Minnesota announced this month that it has removed organ donors’ names from a database used to send letters to transplant recipients, in response to an incident in January in which a software error caused deceased donors’ names to be included in letters to those who received their kidneys, Computerworld reports.
Contra Costa Supervisors Approve Licensing of Stores to Cut Down on Tobacco Sales to Minors
Stepping up their campaign to reduce cigarette sales to minors, Contra Costa County supervisors voted unanimously yesterday to require all stores in unincorporated areas that sell tobacco products to obtain annual licenses, the Contra Costa Times reports.
NGA Does Not Agree on Request for Medicaid Funding Boost
The National Governors Association yesterday agreed to establish an independent commission on Medicaid reform and urged Congress to offer state Medicaid programs “more flexibility,” but the group could not agree on a request for additional federal funding for the programs, CongressDaily/AM reports.
HCA Medicare Fraud Lawsuits Still Lingering
While most Wall Street analysts believe that the financial threat to HCA Inc., the nation’s largest hospital chain, stemming from its record Medicare-fraud settlement has largely subsided, there are indications that the company’s remaining liability may be much higher than anticipated, the Wall Street Journal reports in its “Heard on the Street” column.