Latest News On Hospitals

Latest California Healthline Stories

Under New Cost-Cutting Medicare Rule, Same Surgery, Same Place, Different Bill

A Trump administration Medicare rule will push some hospital patients into a Catch-22: The government says several hundred procedures no longer need to be done in a hospital, but it did not approve them to be performed elsewhere. So patients will still need to use a hospital while not officially admitted — and may be charged more out-of-pocket for the care.

College Tuition Sparked a Mental Health Crisis. Then the Hefty Hospital Bill Arrived.

A student sought counseling help after feeling panicked when she had trouble paying a big tuition bill. A weeklong stay in a psychiatric hospital followed — along with a $3,413 bill. The hospital soft-pedaled its charity care policy.

Medicare Cuts Payment to 774 Hospitals Over Patient Complications

Renowned medical centers are among the quarter of general hospitals that will lose 1% of Medicare payments for one year because their patients have high rates of bedsores, sepsis and other preventable complications.

Montana’s Health Policy MVP Takes Her Playbook on the Road

Marilyn Bartlett, credited with saving Montana’s state employee health plan millions of dollars, is a busy consultant now, as states, counties and big businesses try to use her playbook to bring down hospital costs.