Latest California Healthline Stories
Senate Will Hear Audiotapes of Doctors ‘Coached’ to Overbill
As part of a “crackdown on health care fraud,” investigators from the General Accounting Office are looking at how some medical business consultants are “coaching doctors to boost income” by overcharging the government and private insurers for some services
‘Few Surprises’ in New CDC Report on Death Rates
The number of Americans who died from heart disease and cancer, the nation’s leading causes of death, “continued a steady decline” in 1999, while blood pressure, diabetes, respiratory disease and blood infection-related deaths increased, according to an annual CDC report released yesterday.
House Committee Recommends Boosting U.S. Contribution to World AIDS Fund
House International Relations Committee Chair Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) and committee members Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) have reached an agreement to increase the United States’ contribution to the global campaign against AIDS by more than $1.3 billion, the AP/Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.
John Muir/Mt. Diablo Could Merge with Large Hospital System, Contra Costa Times Says
If “history is a guide,” the John Muir/Mt. Diablo Health System could merge with a large hospital chain, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Delaware to Begin Nation’s First Computerized Disease Reporting System
Delaware will launch the nation’s first computerized communicable disease reporting system, the Associated Press reports.
Contra Costa County Debates Creation of Three Centers Aimed at Providing Health Services for Women
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors will debate today a proposal to create three new county medical centers aimed at providing “immediate assistance to” local women without health insurance coverage, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Alameda County Supervisors Approve Budget, Offer County Medical Center Additional Funds
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Friday approved a $1.8 billion budget that includes an additional $700,000 in funds for the Alameda County Medical Center to help compensate for a $2.4 million budget shortfall reported by the facility last week, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Senate to Vote on Employer Liability in Patients’ Rights Bill
The Senate will likely vote today on an amendment to the Kennedy-McCain-Edwards patients’ rights bill that would shield employers from liability in health care disputes, the New York Times reports.
‘Poor Management’ Delays Care, Risks Lives at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center
The Los Angeles Times today in a front-page story, reports that three patients in the last 10 months have died at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center because “specially trained nurses” were not available during night shifts or Sundays to provide emergency dialysis — a “dramatic example of how poor management and a lack of accountability aggravate delays in care for patients who desperately need it in the largest public hospital in the West.”
Number of ER Visits Increases 14% Since 1992
U.S. residents visited the emergency room 103 million times in 1999, up 14% from 90 million in 1992, according to the CDC.