Latest California Healthline Stories
San Diego County Mental Health System Underfunded, Report Finds
Because San Diego County’s mental health system is “grossly underfunded,” treatment facilities are limited, there are too few employees and “too many” mentally ill people are incarcerated, a county grand jury report released yesterday said, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Senate Passes Measure to Reduce Bush’s Tax Cut
On a 53-47 vote, the Senate yesterday approved an amendment “slic[ing]” $450 billion from President Bush’s 10-year, $1.6 trillion tax cut package — which Democrats maintain would “destroy Medicare” — to provide additional funding for education programs and debt reduction, the Washington Post reports.
Lack of Data Slows Hospital Nursing Ratio Law Implementation
As the nursing shortage in California becomes “ever more severe,” the debate over implementing the state’s novel hospital nurse-to-patient ratio law continues, as lawmakers and health officials have “no model to follow” and lack clinical data to guide their decision, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Three New Medicare Prescription Drug Bills Introduced
Rep. Tom Allen (D-Maine) and Sen. Timothy Johnson (D-S.D.) have introduced legislation that would require pharmaceutical companies that sell drugs to Medicaid and the Veterans’ Administration to offer “deep discounts” to Medicare beneficiaries.
Court Allows PacifiCare to ‘Sever Ties’ with Matrix Physicians Group
PacifiCare Health Systems can continue its plans to transfer its managed care business to Community Medical Centers and its Sante Community Physicians, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs ruled on Tuesday, the Fresno Bee reports.
Tenet Healthcare Group, the nation’s second-largest hospital chain with 110 hospitals, reported “strong financial gains” yesterday, with income from operations up 30% to $198 million in its third fiscal quarter, the Los Angeles Times reports.
NEJM Examines Trends and Future of Managed Care
Managed care “now dominates health care in the United States,” but its future is “uncertain,” R. Adams Dudley and Harold Luft of the University of California-San Francisco write in the sixth installment of the New England Journal of Medicine‘s Health Policy 2001 series.
WebMD CEO Wygod Takes on Added Post of Chair
Martin Wygod, CEO of WebMD Corp., has assumed the additional role of chair following the resignation of W. Michael Long from the company’s board, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Employers Consider Cost-Sharing Options
Rising health costs and a slowing economy are leading employers to consider passing more health insurance costs on to employees, USA Today reports.
eHealthInsurance Succeeds in Role of Broker
While most health care Web sites have either “flamed out or are in the process of doing so,” eHealthInsurance Services Inc. has succeeded by serving as a “broker” between insurers and both individuals and employers, the Wall Street Journal reports.