Latest California Healthline Stories
Hewitt Report Predicts 13% to 16% Increase in Health Costs
U.S. employers will face a 13% to 16% increase in health care costs in 2002, following a 10.2% increase this year, according to a new Hewitt Associates report released yesterday.
Madera Community Hospital Extends Medi-Cal Contract by One Month, Seeks Higher Reimbursements
Madera Community Hospital has agreed to a second month-long extension of its Medi-Cal contract, but hospital officials said that the contract will not be renewed again unless the state increases reimbursement rates, the Fresno Bee reports.
Supreme Court to Rule on Hepatitis C ADA Case
In a case that “could help clarify what duty an employer has to potential employees with disabilities” under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Supreme Court yesterday agreed to decide whether an oil company improperly refused to hire a man with hepatitis C, the AP/Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
San Diego Report Card Shows ‘Good News’ for Family, Youth Health
The number of children in San Diego County who smoke cigarettes or marijuana or consume alcohol is “steadily declining,” but the number of infants with low birth weights is on the rise, according to the county’s “Report Card 2001 on Child and Family Health and Well-Being.”
Ten Sacramento Hospitals Make Preferred List in PacifiCare’s New ‘Network Within a Network’ Plan
Ten hospitals in the Sacramento area will be on PacifiCare’s select list of hospitals when it introduces a new HMO plan next year designed to “channel patients” to facilities with lower reimbursement rates, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
Sept. 11 Attacks, Anthrax May Fuel Increased Health Care Costs
Some analysts predict that the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the “spreading anthrax scare,” which together have increased doctor visits, emergency room visits and prescriptions, “could mean larger bills for employers and heftier insurance premiums,” USA Today reports.
California HealthCare Foundation Report Examines Role of Mobile Computing in Health Care
A new report conducted by the First Consulting Group for the California HealthCare Foundation outlines when and “to what extent” providers can use mobile computing — an “increasingly useful” technology that may allow doctors to access “needed clinical data and applications anywhere and anytime” — in standard health care practice.
N.C. Medical Board Takes Action Against Doctor for Writing Online Cipro Prescriptions
The North Carolina Medical Board on Friday took action against a physician who has been writing online prescriptions for the anthrax antibiotic Cipro, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Black Clergy in San Diego Take HIV Tests to Kick Off Awareness Initiative
A group of black clergy last week took HIV tests on the steps of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in San Diego as part of the kick-off campaign for a new HIV/AIDS awareness initiative aimed at the black community, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Drug Firms Offer Government Antibiotics to Treat Anthrax
After meeting with HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson last Friday, many pharmaceutical industry executives agreed to provide free or discounted antibiotics to the U.S. government to treat anthrax victims, CongressDaily reports.