Latest California Healthline Stories
Hospital Mergers are ‘Growing Apart,’ Not ‘Melding Cultures’
Several years after “merger mania” swept the hospital industry in New York and nationwide, most major health care facilities that “went to the altar appear to have been joined in legal documents and back-room functions only,” the New York Times reports.
Tetanus/Diptheria Vaccine Shortage Causes Immunization Program Cuts
The sole manufacturer of tetanus/diptheria vaccine has quadrupled its price, allowing California to buy and distribute only one third of its normal supply, and forcing counties either to “dramatically” scale back their immunization programs or to purchase the vaccine “at great cost,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Nurses’ Union Proposes Minimum Staffing Levels for Hospitals
Continuing the debate over nurse staffing levels, the California Nurses Association yesterday unveiled a proposed set of staffing ratios that is “deeply at odds with the numbers proposed last summer” by the California Healthcare Association, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Sonoma County Physicians Run Ad Calling for Increased Reimbursements
More than half of Sonoma County’s 600 doctors signed a petition “urging” the public to support increasing funding for the county’s health care system, the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports.
Breaux Predicts Medicare Restructuring by Summer
Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) told a joint conference of the American Society on the Aging and the National Council on Aging in New Orleans that lawmakers plan to “turn their attention” to Medicare reform after addressing tax cut legislation, the
New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
Minnesota Health Plans Agree to ‘Standards’ of Care
Five health plans in Minnesota have endorsed a set of “standard guidelines” for treating 50 common ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes and bladder infections, the New York Times reports.
Kennedy Wants Debtors’ Medical Expenses to Count in Bankruptcy Reform
As the Senate debates a bill that would make it “more difficult and costly” for individuals to file for bankruptcy, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) plans today to introduce an amendment to the measure that would “ensur[e] that a debtor’s monthly expenses could include an allowance for health insurance,” USA Today reports.
Breaux-Frist Patients’ Rights Draft Released
According to a draft summary of patients’ rights legislation crafted by Sens. John Breaux (D-La.), Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), James Jeffords (R-Vt.) and other “centrist” senators, patients in employer-sponsored health plans would have a limited federal right to sue their HMOs over “coverage determinations” resulting in “har[m],” CongressDaily reports.
Senate Hearing on Ergonomics Planned, Democrats Skeptical
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who along with other Senate members voted last week to repeal the Clinton administration’s ergonomics rules, is planning an April 5 hearing to determine “what can be done” with the issue, CongressDaily/A.M. reports.
N.Y. Telemedicine Organization Helps Rural Hospitals
A New York telemedicine organization has employed a “two-way television network” to provide education, training and assistance to medical professionals in rural areas, the Albany Times Union reports.