Latest California Healthline Stories
Tax Bill Passage Unlikely, Providers Plead for Medicare Givebacks
Senate Republican leaders yesterday “ruled out passage” of the $240 billion tax relief package that includes the $30 billion Medicare givebacks provision (H.R. 5543), saying that lawmakers should wait to decide fiscal matters “until a new administration takes control,” the Washington Post reports.
Community Memorial Hospital Officials ‘Open’ to Plan to Extend County HMO
Community Memorial Hospital officials are “open” to a plan by Ventura County Supervisors to extend the county’s managed health care program to uninsured workers whose employers do not provide coverage, the Los Angeles Times reports.
High Health Costs Burden States
Rising health care costs are putting a squeeze on budgets in at least a dozen states, the AP/Salt Lake Tribune reports. After a decade of “slight growth,” there has recently been a “spike” in Medicaid costs, which several states attribute to overly optimistic projections.”
State Seeks to Improve Mental Health System for Seniors
California’s seniors for “years” have received “inadequate care” through the state’s mental health system and the situation will only get worse as the number of seniors with depression is expected to grow from 67,000 to 1.2 million by 2025, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Class-Action Status Possible in Teen Smokers’ Lawsuit
Nearly 1.5 million California teens who smoked between April 1994 and December 1999 may soon be eligible to join a lawsuit being brought against some of the nation’s largest tobacco companies, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Hospitals, State Settle Medi-Cal Reimbursement Suit
Under a settlement reached in a 10-year-old lawsuit, California hospitals will receive a “broad increase” in reimbursements for Medi-Cal, marking the first such increase in 15 years, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Kaiser Permanente Sued for ‘Pill-Splitting’ Practice
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, a public interest law firm representing six patients enrolled in Kaiser Permanente, has filed suit against the not-for-profit HMO, charging that it forced patients to split pills as part of a “cost-saving” effort, NPR’s “All Things Considered” reports.
Bush’s Rumored Health Care Cabinet Choices Emerge
Appointees to top health care positions under a potential George W. Bush administration are being “unofficially aired in the health care community,” CongressDaily reports.
L.A. Task Force, FDA Indict 17 Illegal Pharmacy Operators
A Los Angeles federal grand jury yesterday indicted 17 people for operating illegal pharmacies and clinics in San Fernando Valley and Orange County, the latest move in local authorities’ two-year “uphill battle” against illegal prescription sales, the Los Angeles Times reports.
NCQA to Offer ‘Targeted’ Health Plan Report Card Online
The National Committee for Quality Assurance has begun offering its Health Plan Report Card via the Internet to provide employers and employees with “targeted, detailed information on available health care options.”