Latest California Healthline Stories
California Hospital Seismic Safety Rules Center Stage Again
Recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile have called into question California’s own preparedness for a major quake. Hospitals’ compliance with state seismic safety rules are of particular concern.
Expert Touts Need for Quality Reporting To Produce Data for Patients, Not Just Practitioners
R. Adams Dudley, a professor of medicine and health policy at UC-San Francisco, shared his thoughts about health care quality reporting initiatives and strategies for improving these efforts.
New Program Brings Health Care Stakeholders Together To Curb Hospital-Acquired Infections
Gene Grigsby of the National Health Foundation, Leslie Margolin of Anthem Blue Cross, Jon Rosenberg of DPH and the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California’s Mary Lopez and Scott Seamons shared their thoughts on the new initiative.
New Jobs Training Effort Could Strengthen California’s Allied Health Care Work Force
Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford University’s Center for Health Policy and Cathy Martin of the California Hospital Association spoke with California Healthline about the possible impact of health care worker training programs.
California’s Safety Net Health Centers Seeing More Low-Income Patients, Less State Funding
Carmela Castellano-Garcia of CPCA, Melissa Stafford Jones of CAPH and William Walker of Contra Costa Health Services spoke with California Healthline about growing strain on the state’s safety net health care system.
Reform Could Shift Medicare Money Away From California
Realigning regional spending on Medicare could help pay for national health reform by saving $1.42 trillion over the next 15 years, but some parts of the country — including California — stand to pay a higher Medicare toll for reform than others.
Non-Native English Speakers Face Numerous Linguistic, Cultural Barriers to Medical Care
Mary Masland of UC-Berkeley, Rachel Mutrux of the Missouri Telehealth Network, Margaret O’Kane of NCQA and Gayle Tang of Kaiser Permanente discussed intercultural communication challenges with California Healthline.
California Health Officials Prepare To Combat Expected Increase in H1N1 Influenza Cases
Deborah Burger of CNA, Gil Chavez of the state public health department, Cheri Hummel of the California Hospital Association and Hilary McLean of the education department discussed H1N1 preparedness with California Healthline.
Should State Add New Hospital Fee To Increase Medi-Cal Payments?
California legislators are weighing a proposal that would impose a fee on hospitals to help draw down federal matching funds that could help the state boost Medi-Cal reimbursements. The author of the bill and an official with the California Hospital Association explain why they support it.
What Will Post-Budget Health Care Look Like in California?
Health care programs have seen major cuts in state funding in recent months, prompting some stakeholders to worry that the reductions are undermining California’s health care safety net. Representatives of three organizations share their thoughts on the matter.