Latest California Healthline Stories
PacifiCare to Lay Off 550 Workers
PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. has announced it will cut 550 jobs effective Jan. 2, the Orange County Register reports.
Washington Post Confirms HIAA/AAHP Merger Failure
The Washington Post today confirms that the Health Insurance Association of America has pulled out of merger discussions with the American Association of Health Plans, a deal that would have united “two of the most powerful lobbies” in the health care industry.
HCA to Pay $95M in Medicare Fraud Case
The Justice Department is expected to announce today that Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA-The Healthcare Co. has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $95.3 million to settle criminal charges it defrauded Medicare and other federal insurance programs, the Nashville Tennessean reports.
HIAA/AHA/Families USA Proposal to Cover the Uninsured Meets Criticism
A plan designed to “bridge the bipartisan divide” on the issue of the uninsured proposed by three “strange bedfellows” — the Health Insurance Association of America, the American Hospital Association and Families USA — has met its “first major criticism,” CongressDaily/A.M. reports.
SEIU Set For 24-Hour Strike, Alameda Reaches Resolution
Unionized workers at 16 Northern California hospitals were set to go on strike at 6 a.m. today, the fifth such action this year by the Service Employees International Union’s Local 250 at facilities run by Catholic Healthcare West and Sutter Health. Also targeted will be facilities owned by Tenet Healthcare Corp. and the Prison Health Services, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Administrators Says Windsor Gardens Improving
The regional administrator for the Windsor Gardens Convalescent and Rehabilitation Center said Tuesday that a “complete systems breakdown of management” was responsible for the center’s “poor care” and that steps were being taken to fix the problem, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
New Gene Therapy Reporting Rules Proposed
The Clinton administration yesterday proposed new rules for reporting complications that arise in gene therapy studies, the Washington Post reports.
Immigrants Represent 40% of Tuberculosis U.S. Cases
While the nation’s overall tuberculosis rate has reached an all-time low, the number of cases among immigrants has risen to about 40% of all cases in the United States, indicating that government efforts to eliminate TB should “focus on foreigners,” according to a new CDC study.
CalPERS Approves Patient Payment Hikes
“In an aggressive attempt to ward off insolvency and shore up the reserves of its two self-insured health plans,” the health benefits committee of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System yesterday approved a package that will increase patient co-payments and deductibles in 2001, the Sacramento Bee reports.
San Jose Moves Toward Universal Coverage for Children
Officials in San Jose unanimously agreed yesterday to contribute about $3 million of the city’s share of the national tobacco settlement to a plan to provide health coverage for all uninsured children in Santa Clara County.