Latest California Healthline Stories
New Hospital Leader Fights Price Controls Despite Reputation As A Reformer
Carmela Coyle was known as an innovator when she led Maryland’s hospital association and supported a groundbreaking program that capped hospital revenue. But less than a year into her new job representing California’s hospitals in Sacramento, Coyle has already helped kill a proposal to regulate pricing.
That ‘Living Will’ You Signed? At The ER, It Could Be Open To Interpretation.
End-of-life documents express your preferences for care but may not be binding medical orders. Here’s how to better prepare for the unexpected — that your last wishes won’t be carried out.
Medicare Financial Outlook Worsens
The Medicare board of trustees said the program’s hospital insurance trust fund could run out of money by 2026, three years earlier than previously forecast.
‘Time’s Up’: Covered California To Enforce Quality And Safety Targets
Starting in less than two years, if state hospitals haven’t met targets for performance of C-sections, medical imaging and opioid prescription, they’ll risk being excluded from the “in-network” designation of health plans sold on the state’s insurance exchange.
Sutter Health Strikes Back At California Attorney General’s Antitrust Suit
The hospital chain says AG Xavier Becerra is trying to “dismantle” its system. CHL’s Chad Terhune discusses this high-stakes legal battle over health care consolidation on KQED radio, with health editor Carrie Feibel.
California Hospitals Urge Moms To Favor Breast Milk Over Formula
Exclusively breastfeeding babies for at least six months is widely viewed as a significant health benefit. White moms are more likely to do so than blacks, Asians or Latinas.
Children’s Hospitals Look To Voters For Financial Aid
California’s children’s hospitals want to put a measure on the November ballot for a $1.5 billion bond to help them pay for construction and upgrades.
California Hospital Giant Sutter Health Faces Heavy Backlash On Prices
In a case with possible national repercussions, the state’s attorney general has sued over alleged price gouging, and other legal and legislative challenges are afoot. Sutter is pushing back hard, denying anticompetitive behavior.
Sticker Shock Jolts Oklahoma Patient: $15,076 For Four Tiny Screws
A woman with foot pain was floored by the high cost of titanium screws used in her surgery. “Unless the metal [was] mined on an asteroid, I do not know why it should cost that amount,” she says.
When Credit Scores Become Casualties Of Health Care
The complexity of health insurance coverage rules, along with market trends that leave consumers open to more out-of-pocket costs, lead to mounting medical debt for consumers.
