Latest California Healthline Stories
Proposed Sacramento County ‘Hiring Freeze’ Could Hamper Health Services for Residents
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, concerned about the economic recession and expected reductions in state funds, is considering a “partial hiring freeze” and other “tough measures to save money and soften the blow” of potential budget reductions next year — a move that could hamper health services for county residents, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Lockyer Grants ‘Conditional Approval’ for Daniel Freeman Hospitals Sale to Tenet
Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) last Friday provided “conditional approval” for the $55 million sale of Daniel Freeman Hospitals, the last not-for-profit hospitals in Inglewood and Marina del Rey, to the for-profit Tenet Healthcare Corp., the Los Angeles Times reports.
VHA System Improves Care, Reduces Medical Errors
The Veterans Health Administration, which has been “known for bloated bureaucracy and poor patient care,” is “leading a nascent movement” to “unlock the data lurking in hospitals” through a network of patient information that could help doctors improve patient care and reduce medical errors, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Rising Hospice Care Costs ‘Challenge’ Medicaid, Medicare
The rising cost of hospice care is “challenging” providers, the federal Medicare program and state Medicaid funds, while the majority of Medicare beneficiaries eligible for end-of-life care are unaware that such services exist, according to a new report to Congress from the Alliance for Health Reform, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.
Two Companies Sign ‘Unusual’ Disease Management Contract
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and American Healthways Inc. expect to announce today an “unusual” 10-year contract in which American Healthways will help manage the care of BCBS’ patients with heart disease, diabetes, asthma and other chronic diseases, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Los Angeles Times Editorial Criticizes Kaiser Permanente’s Legal Actions Against DMHC
Kaiser Permanente’s attempt to overturn a $1.1 million fine levied by Department of Managed Health Care Director Daniel Zingale is “pure intimidation and should be thrown out of court,” a Los Angeles Times editorial says.
Employer Premiums to Rise 12.7% in 2002, Mercer Survey Finds
The cost of employers’ health premiums rose 11.2% in 2001 reaching an average of $4,924 for every worker, and will likely rise an additional 12.7% next year, according to a new nationwide survey of 2,800 large and small businesses by the consulting firm William M. Mercer.
Health Officers Association to Help Draft Bioterrorism Legislation
Doctors with the Health Officers Association of California have agreed to help Assembly member Keith Richman (R-Northridge) draft anti-bioterrorism legislation that is “politically palatable,” the Sacramento Bee reports.
Minority Groups Often Avoid Mental Health Care
Minority groups, concerned that therapy represents a “white” or “elitist institution that will abuse them” or “mislabel” them as “crazy” or “paranoid,” often avoid discussing their mental health problems with professionals, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Los Angeles Times Examines WellPoint’s Six-Year Recovery, Expansion
The Los Angeles Times yesterday profiled Thousand Oaks-based WellPoint Health Network’s six-year expansion, which began with the “embarrassing failure” of its plan to merge with Health Net and now sees the company on the brink of having the nation’s third-largest enrollment among publicly traded managed care companies.