Latest California Healthline Stories
Lessons Learned From California’s H1N1 Experience
Mark Horton, head of the California Public Health Department, and Vanessa Cordova of the Alameda County Public Health Department share their thoughts on the state’s efforts to address H1N1 flu.
Federal Stimulus Funds Aim To Help Medi-Cal Providers Adopt Electronic Health Record Tools
Kim Ortiz of the Department of Health Care Services, Sean South of the California Primary Care Association and Mary Szecsey of West County Health Centers spoke with California Healthline about the new federal funds.
Pushback Grows as Senate Nears Passage of Health Reform Bill
Despite vocal opposition from Republican lawmakers, Democrats in the Senate now have the 60 votes they need to pass health care reform legislation. Amid the chorus of criticism, California’s senatorial stable remains strongly in favor of the bill.
Governor Points to Cost Concerns in Dialing Back Support for Reform
Gov. Schwarzenegger said he remains convinced that the nation needs health care reform but cautioned lawmakers against pushing through a bill just to meet a deadline. Schwarzenegger said current proposals would lead to a $3 billion increase in costs for California.
New National Nurses Union Could Exert More Pressure on State, National Health Care Policy
Deborah Burger of the California Nurses Association and the National Nurses Union and Harley Shaiken of UC-Berkeley spoke with California Healthline about a recent merger between three large nursing unions.
Clearer Picture Emerges on Stimulus’ IT Funding
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT recently issued updates on funding programs aimed at advancing health IT adoption, including changes to an existing funding program and the announcement of a new initiative.
Senate Aims To Raise the Bar for Not-for-Profit Status in Health Care
Not-for-profit BlueCross BlueShield plans, including Blue Shield of California, would have to meet new standards for spending on health benefits under the Senate’s health care reform bill. Another provision of the bill would limit what not-for-profit hospitals could charge some patients for emergency care or other medically necessary services.
County Leaders Look to Reform Bills To Help Strengthen California’s Local Health Services
Tangerine Brigham of Healthy San Francisco, Marty Fenstersheib of Santa Clara County’s health office and Tom Joseph of the California State Association of Counties spoke with California Healthline about public services.
Unemployed Californians Dig Deeper as COBRA Subsidies Expire
The federal stimulus package included money to help newly unemployed pay for health insurance, but those subsidies are coming to an end. Health advocates say uninsured ranks will grow if subsidies aren’t renewed.
Kaiser, Other Plans Win Concession in Senate Health Care Legislation
Kaiser Permanente and other integrated health care systems would benefit from a provision of the Senate health care reform bill that would apply a new tax on insurers to fees from third-party administration agreements for self-insured plans. Such plans are far less common in California than they are in other states.