Archive

Latest California Healthline Stories

Medicare Takes Aim At Boomerang Hospitalizations Of Nursing Home Patients

Nationally, one in five Medicare patients who leave the hospital for a nursing home end up back in the hospital. In California, one-fifth of the more than 1,200 nursing homes send at least 24 percent of their Medicare patients back to the hospital. To discourage this trend, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will soon give bonuses and penalties to facilities based on their rehospitalization rates.

Remote Rural Hospital Puts Its Fate In Hands of Denver Entrepreneur

Residents of Surprise Valley, in the state’s northeastern corner, voted to sell its hospital to a businessman with a controversial plan to bring in revenue. Its dismal financial plight exemplifies the woes of rural hospitals around the country.